Sanguinem Ursa
by Ghost Operation Systems
Summary: The Cullens and the Quileute have been in a state of forced peace. What would happen when a human with no allegiance to anyone shows up at the Cullen's baseball game tracking Victoria? What is he that he can stand toe-to-toe with a vampire? And what will he do to the Cullen's peaceful lives? Rated M for language, blood, and future lemons.
1. Meeting a Stranger

**THIS IS A NEW STORY THAT I HAVE BEEN THINKING OF FOR AWHILE NOW. I DON'T OWN THE TWILIGHT BOOKS OR MOVIES. THEY BELONG TO THEIR RESPECTIVE AUTHORS AND MOVIE MAKERS. I WILL JUST JUMP INTO THE ACTION.**

Chapter 1: Meeting a Stranger

"We led all the humans East so you don't have to worry," Victoria said smugly.

"Yes you should be safe," Laurent said still holding his arms out.

"We thank you for that," Carlisle said looking around.

"Do you think you have room for three more players," he asked.

"Oh come on. Just for one game."

"Yeah no problem some of us were just leaving," Carlisle stated looking pointedly at Bella.

"Here," and Emmett threw the ball at Laurent. It was quickly caught by Victoria.

"I'll be the one pitching, I'm the one with the wicked curve balls."

"We can take it," Jasper said smugly.

A few of the vampires laughed in small voices. Suddenly the clearing was filled with the smell of iron and smoke, looking over where the smell was coming from The human eaters and the Cullen's saw a figure that was standing right next to the Jeep.

"Well look what I found here, I was only looking for a bitch and her two buddies but now I get a whole Coven," the deep voiced figure laughed silently.

"How did you find us," Victoria snarled.

"I was raised to hunt your kind, of course I would know the typical responses," he then pulled back his hood.

Standing next to the Jeep was a young man who could have been 17 or 18. He was bald and had small scars on his face. He dropped his coarse fur cloak and showed what was underneath. He was wearing slightly loose pants and had a tight sleeveless leather top that looked to be woven together. The vampires saw that he had a chain connected to a handle bent over his shoulder and a handle sticking out from behind his back at his belt line.

"I just what to go home and get myself a lovely bonfire going, you wouldn't happen to know where I can get some good kindling," he stared directly at Victoria who was apparently the leader of the ragged group.

"Well, if you are looking for kindling," Carlisle started, "there are a few trees that fell down over there."

"Funny leech, I was thinking of a roast," he then took a step towards the group.

"You die now," James screamed and lunged at the boy.

"Not today," was whispered and suddenly Alice shook her head to gain her concentration back.

Alice POV

There is no way that would happen. The human was strange yes but what was startling was that I didn't sense him until it was too late. He dropped his hand to the handle at his waist and I saw a bloody future.

"Well, at least we get some food," Victoria said seemingly knowing the result already.

"No, he will be destroyed," I whispered.

The rest of my family looked at me in confusion. But I just looked at the blur that was heading towards the human. He grabbed the handle just like I saw in my vision. A boom of sound and then my vision came true.

"I will not be dying to you that easily," the human said as his large hatchet steamed in the open air.

"You are too stubborn just die."

And with another lunge James tried to kill him, at a blinding speed the human swung the axe upward. James leaped back but not in time as at the hot metal sliced his arm.

"Look at that, I must be tired cause I missed," his smile was splitting his visage.

"Why don't we talk this out," Esme tried to reason with the fighting pair.

"I am only here to kill leeches," was the humans response before he swung his axe again at James.

"We have to help him," Bella said pulling at Edwards arm.

"We can't help he provoked an attack," was his response. Suddenly the wind blew Bella's scent towards the two remaining man eaters.

"Thanks for the snack," and with that Victoria lunged at her.

I pushed everyone to the ground and watched the steaming axe fly over our heads and hit our attacker in the arm. Looking over at the previously ignored fight, I saw that James was on the ground bleeding and the human was missing a few fingers. The human's hand was outstretched still in the motion of throwing the axe at us.

"Now Queen Bitch, you are not going to 'feast' while I am still breathing," and with that he grabbed the second handle and pulled downwards.

The massive axe that was revealed seemed to be against nature itself. It was a protected handle connected to a chain that connected to another handle that had a trigger and a small propane tank attached to the back of the large axe head.

"Do you want to fight straight up or do you want to get some cardio in first," the human joked with a clearly angry Victoria.

"We will be leaving now," and Laurel flashed over to the down form of James and was gone before the axe hit the ground where they had been standing. Looking over at where Victoria had been standing I only saw our empty baseball field.

"Damn it,"the human yelled and turned his gaze towards us.

We all got into defensive stances and waited. Suddenly the human fell to his knees with a cry of pain. Bella ignoring the rest of our warnings ran up to him and saw what had happened. His left hand was now missing half of the two middle fingers.

"What happened," Carlisle asked walking up with caution.

"Bastard bite off my fingers," he gritted out.

"He must have put extra venom into his bite to kill you," Carlisle said examining the human.

"Spiteful bastard," he muttered.

"I know what I have to do," he said.

"Hey, Short butch," he said looking up to me, "get my hatchet for me."

I growled slightly at the name and with a look from Carlisle and Esme I walked over to place where I saw the axe laying. It was wrapped with leather chord and had a trigger similar to the one on the large axe.

"Here, take it you ass," as it slipped out of my mouth I was shocked because I never lost my cool like that.

"Good to see the kitten has some-," what he was going to say was cut off by him cough loudly.

"Great there goes Plan A," he said after clicking the trigger with no reaction.

"I'm going to need help leech," he said still slightly defensive.

"My name is Carlisle Cullen and this is my family."

"Yeah yeah, I don't care just give me the silver canister in my cloak poach," his eyes were now shut with pain and he was sweating heavily.

Edward walked over to coat and gingerly picked the coat up and pulled the metal cylinder out. Tossing it to Emmett, Edward pushed Bella into the car and then drove off in a hurry.

"He seems cheerful," Rosalie growled at him and stalked away.

"What is this," I asked, my curiosity getting the better of me.

"Read the label kitten," he spoke softer than before.

Looking at the polished surface, I saw the words Acetylene printed clearly across the gleaming surface.

"Why do you have this in your coat pocket," Carlisle asked getting more worried.

"Explain. Later," and he pushed the container into the now empty slot in the top of the hatchet.

"Don't do it," I said to the confusion of Esme.

Ignoring me, he turn the container and I heard a hiss as he pulled the trigger three times and the axe steadily glowed bright orange. Again ignoring the shocked faces of my family, he swung the axe down at the bleeding injury.

With one swing his disfigured fingers limply stayed on the ground as he pulled his bloody hand up. The blood flowed from the fingers onto the ground staining it dark red. The smell then invaded my senses, I could feel my body involuntarily tensing the muscles that I rarely used and a deep purr erupted from my throat.

"Why," was the only thing I could hear from Carlisle before I took a step towards the down human.

"Well it seems that I'm dead now," the humans words stopped me cold.

"Don't say that we can help you," the ever kind Esme tried to reason with him.

"No, I have lost fingers. That means I can't fight the way I need to," he looked down, "Plus the butch kitten has been looking at me like I look at my medium rare steak."

The rest of the family look closer at my blackened eyes and they knew I was after his blood. Jasper grabbed my upper arm and escorted me away to the other car far from the scent of the humans blood. I could stop the hunger that filled me. Looking back at the gathering, I saw the human was slumped over and Carlisle lifted him over his shoulder.

"I'm going to save him, it is the least I can do for him protecting Bella."

Carlisle POV

Looking down at the sleeping form of the boy I noticed the small details. He had a scar the ran down his eyebrow over his eye and that his stubble was black and unmanaged. When we took his woven leather shirt off we saw scars scattered around his torso. The fight had strained several muscles in his arms and back.

"What have you gone through child," I said not knowing that I had an audience behind me.

"He is a bit rough on the eyes," a slightly hard voice said.

"What have I told you about being nice to my patients, Rosalie."

"We should have let him die. He didn't want to be saved," her eyes flicked with slight disgust.

"Neither did you at first," I replied tiredly.

"That is different from this," she tried to reason.

"No it isn't and you know that I try everything to save every patient, even from themselves if necessary."

Feeling the injured human shift on the table, I glanced down. His eyes were fluttering open and he saw who we were.

"Great. You either saved me or I am in hell with two blondes," his scratchy voice said.

"Just die and let me be in peace."

"Trust me Sour Blondie, I don't want to be alive right now either," he growled out.

"Let's just calm down and not get angry," I said shooing Rosalie out of the room.

"Let's start with your name how does that sound," I said kindly.

"Well leech, just call me Duel," his voice was steely and so were his eyes that were glancing around the room.

"Well, where are my things," he growled out lowly.

"They are safe," I assured him.

"I need to leave just tell me," he demanded.

"No need for the raised voice man," Emmett joked walking in.

"Don't talk to me as though we are friends."

"You need to heal and recover," I reasoned with him.

"Screw you, I'm leaving one way or another."

"Why can't I see you anymore," Alice suddenly asked.

"What, you can't see him anymore," I said shocked because that had never happened before, Alice saw everyone coming one way or another.

"Yeah, I only see a blank space around him now when I try to see," she explained.

"Ok, a massively disturbed human here," he interrupted my musings.

His face showed that he still felt the pain of his self inflicted injury. He jumped slightly when I put a needle filled with morphine into his arm. He looked at me in anger but quickly closed his eyes.

"It seems that we are gong to be having another human staying," Esme said happily.

I knew that my wife was happy to cook and care for, in her eyes, a child. She cared for all the children we had taken in yes but she never did get to have her own children.

Duel POV

I had let my guard down twice, once during the fight and I lost nearly half my fingers on one hand due to that. And the second is when I foolishly thought I was safe if they were curious about me. I was ashamed about my performance during the fight. I should have taunted him less and just killed him.

"-should be waking up soon," the doctor leech's voice whispered to another.

The whispered response was too quiet to hear. It wasn't that I hated the vampires it was just that when I was in battle I let my emotions dictate how I acted. And when I woke up missing parts of my hand and in pain, I just snapped at them.

"He is young from what I can tell," I heard a woman's voice this time.

"I think that if we feed him and try to get him to try living he will open up."

"I think we should just let him die," the sharp tongued blonde coldly stated.

Good, it seems that I had at least one person that I could be bitter too and not offend any of them. Thinking back to when I had first woken up I remembered the weird butch vampire girl. It was the short one, she had the delicate porcelain skin of every vampire. The strange thing was the way she looked at me. It looked like she wanted to see into my soul.

"Alice is still trying to look into his possible futures," so her name is Alice that is good for later.

Those words snapped me back to reality, I knew that I would not survive on my own. But could I really live with the creatures that I openly admitted to hunting. They would surely be suspicious of my motives I mean I would be.

"You can open your eyes now they have left," Dr. Carlisle spoke softly.

"Why did you not tell them," I asked trying to be a little nicer.

"Cause she would not have left you alone until she figured out why you are different."

Fully opening my eyes, I saw that my chest was bare and the stumps that were on my hand were heavily bandaged. Thinking of what had happened after the battle, I continued my train of thought about not being able to fight or even do everyday tasks. Suddenly the door was flung open and a guy looking around my age ran in.

"Is everything all right, I sensed something wrong." He had honey blond hair and golden eyes that matched his pale complexion.

"Don't worry Jasper, Duel here was just thinking about his circumstances."

"Duel?"

"Yes that is the name that this human gave us to call him," I could see Jaspers look of peculiarity.

"Strange name. I'm Jasper and I can sense all strong emotions so try to keep it calm otherwise I will act on them," he offered his hand politely and I only glared at it.

"I'd rather not," I stated shortly.

"My body will be recovered in about a week," I continued.

"No, it won't fully heal for another month." Dr. Carlisle tried to reason with me.

Shaking my head, I could only silently tell him that he was wrong. I planned to fix my hand one way or another. Jasper left the room after he looked me in the eyes and seemed to know what I was thinking. He also seemed to have a pained look on face as he left.

"So you said that Alice could see the future," I asked trying to break the tension.

"Not the whole thing just what will happen based on your decisions," his explanation only confused me further.

If that were the case, then wouldn't she be seeing a different future every few seconds because people's choices change so rapidly. And if a person was following orders not knowing anything would she still see them.

"I can see that you are still confused, don't worry I believe that you will learn in time," he assured me.

"I will be leaving soon don't worry," I said before sniffing the air.

"Is that smell me," I asked him.

"Yes, we didn't want to do something that could harm you further," he explained.

"Damn, do you have a shower?"

"Yes but with your injury you can't bath or shower," he said lifting my hand up slightly.

Wincing at the small movement, I resigned myself to not have a hot relaxing shower for awhile. I then heard a flatter of movement from the other room and the woman who I think was named Esme walked in with a plate of food in hand.

"I hope you don't mind I made some steamed vegetables to get you some nutrients," she smiled as she handed me the steaming plate.

"Thanks ma'am," I said thinking how she reminded me of a motherly saint.

The way she had said that though made me think that she was giving me good food so that I would taste better in the future. Knowing the way the butch looked at me, I didn't doubt that I possibly was dinner.

"Tell if I can cook anything that you would want," her smile relaxed my body slightly.

"I'm fine I will be leaving in a week," her smile turned into a frown.

I ignored her rant about the fact that I should just take my time recovering and thought of what I could do to improve and adjust my axes. They were my pride and joy, I referred to them as the Burning Axes. As if she could read my mind, which she could have, she stopped talking and starred disapprovingly.

"Thanks for the food," I said between mouthfuls.

"If you want to bath, we could give you a sponge bath," as the doctor said this I choked.

"No fucking way. I'm not gay and I don't trust Blondie or butch not to kill me," I stared directly into his golden eyes and showed my refusal.

"Don't be rude. And what about me," the food lady asked.

"It is fine none of us are gay either," Carlisle said laughing softly.

"Still no. I can't trust any of your kind so quickly. Can you get me my axes I need to do a check up on them," I decided that I had talked enough with the doctor or the other leeches.

"Fine, but I will be leaving someone to watch over you." Just great now I have a guardian leech.

"Fine just get me my weapons," I said not even having the energy to argue.

The doctor walked out of the room and I noticed that the clouds that blocked the sun in this town were slightly parted and that I was surrounded by nature.

"Here you go mister human," a tall bulky boy handed me the scratched metal axes.

"My name is Emmett Cullen, and as of right now I am your babysitter," he tried to joke with me.

"I don't care. Just let me work in peace." I was already tuning his voice out.

Looking down at the hatchet I noticed that the blade had chips and cracks in it. The hatchet was modeled after a Viking axe with a hollow inside the axe head that could be filled with Acetylene. The fight had not been kind to it, I would have to melt down the metal and start it from scratch. The handle, trigger, and in-take valve were all in near perfect condition but the axe head was too damaged to get more than a few strikes out of it.

My broad axe was not damaged because it had only been used for one single strike. The only problem that I saw now was that my left hand was only half the grip strength so the way that I usually swung my large axe would now be useless because I only used my left hand for swinging on the second handle.

"So man how did you come to be at our game," Emmett leech interrupted my thoughts.

"I was tracking the leeches and I came to your leech game," I growled out in irritation.

"No need to be so hostile I was just asking a question," he held up his hands in exasperation.

"I am trying to concentrate on something that could possible kill me if it goes wrong," I hissed at him and continued making the mental corrections to the axe.

He stopped talking and I took a piece of paper from my pants pocket that was only slightly stained with mud and started to do some calculations. Unfortunately I started to speak my thoughts out loud.

"If I keep the axe one centimeter thick I could increase the hollow to 2.75 mm and increase the amount of gas by 62.7 kPa. And if I add an edge of wrought iron on the very point then the blade with increase its lifespan by about tenfold instead of about n-," What I was going to say was cut off by the leech still in the room.

"Could you not be such a smarty person out loud I'm trying to enjoy my nap time," he said so suddenly that I dropped the pen that I had borrowed from the table next to me on the ground.

"Damn it, why did you do that? And I thought that you people didn't have to sleep."

"We don't I'm just relaxing from Rosalie riding my ass about baseball," he sighed heavily.

"The blonde bitch," I said raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah," then he sighed, "she does have a good reason for being that way. But I still love her."

"Why? If it is ok to ask," I said putting my calculations on the table next to me.

"What's with the sudden curiosity, and what was with the whole be silent thing," he asked.

"I have finished what I can do but you have gotten my attention. So speak."

"Fine but don't tell her I said anything." At my nodding head he started his story.

"In 1933, Rosalie was turned into a vampire by Carlisle after he found her. She had been raped and beaten to the brink of death by a group of drunken men, including her fiancé. Two years later, Rosalie rescued me from being mauled by a bear, and after she turned me into a vampire, we fell very deeply in love. We married each other in 1948."

"Wow that is a very interesting story. So what happened to her fiancé?" I was now fully engulfed in this story.

"She tracked each one of the men and killed them saving her ex for last," his somber mood seemed to continue the more he thought about it.

"Don't expect me to be nice to her now. I have to keep some dignity," at this he laughed and I could tell that he was returning back to normal.

"Now let me sleep you muscle leech," and with that I rolled over and promptly fell into a deep slumber.

 **A SHORT AUTHOR'S NOTE TO SAY READ AND REVIEW THIS STORY. FLAMES WILL BE HUMILIATED AND REPORTED.**

 **Ghost Operation Systems signing out**


	2. The Race to Protect Bella

**AGAIN I DON'T OWN THE TWILIGHT SAGA AND I AM WRITING THIS FROM A BORED MIND. THIS FANFICTION IS FOR THE FANS THAT LIKE MY WRITING STYLE (however few there are) SO PLEASE ENJOY.**

Chapter 2: The Race to Protect Bella

Alice POV

Laying on my bed, I just stared at the ceiling in boredom. I wished, not for the first time, that vampires could sleep. It would help me pass the time and keep my thoughts from drifting to the strange human.

"Do you have time," Jasper asked after knocking on my door.

"Yeah sure, come on in," I said sitting up on my bed.

He walked in after looking at my disheveled appearance. He sat down next to me and put an arm around my shoulder in comfort.

"So what's the matter this time. I sense anger and confusion."

Sighing I started to talk, "That was the first time I have ever lost control. I wanted to drink every drop of blood from him."

"Now you now how I feel around some people," his voice reflected how tired he was.

"You can read and subtlety change a persons feelings, I can only see the possible futures," I was still trying to concentrate on blocking out the human from my thoughts.

"Yeah, but I feel relaxed when I am around you because you guys are pretty much emotionless pits," he said flopping back onto the bed.

"You known just what to say to an adopted sister," I said sarcastically.

He grinned slightly and shut his eyes. Despite what people said at school, he was a brother to me and I didn't see him in a romantic way. He was kind to me and took me in when I was just wandering around aimlessly.

"Why do you have to be so obtuse," he asked me.

"First of all, no one really uses the word obtuse anymore. And secondly it is part of my charm," I said cheerfully.

"Just don't eat the human, he will be staying here about a month."

His words made me slightly nervous, "You don't seriously mean that."

"He needs time to recover, and when have you been so disillusioned about helping someone."

"It just makes me nervous that I can't see anything," I said sighing.

"Just give him a chance. He is a bit rude but he doesn't have any malicious emotions," I sighed again cause I knew that the human was rude.

I stood and pumped my fist in the air and decided to see if I could possibly see Bella. She had been missing since Edward had put her in the Jeep and drove back to her house. We decided that he would watch over her and not allow those human drinkers to get her. The one who Duel injured, James, was a tracker and they never let their prey get away from them.

"SHUT THE FUCK UP. I'M TRYING TO SLEEP," a voice that could only belong to the injured human screamed.

Running to the back room where he was supposed to be resting, I saw that many of the family were already heading in that direction as well. I noticed that Emmett was not in the group that was entering the room. Strange usually he was the first to be at the scene of any argument.

"Come on man I was just trying to pass the time," Emmett's slightly shaking voice said.

"I. Don't. Care. You are going to stop that or so help me god," Duel said through gritted teeth and I swear I heard a blade being drawn.

Finally getting past Rosalie who was leaning against the edge of the door, I saw that Duel was sitting up and gripping his short axe tightly in his right hand. I noticed that the blade was chipped and had cracks but the light in Duel's eyes convinced me that he could still use it to hurt Emmett.

"What is going on right here," Carlisle asked trying to stop the brewing fight.

"This leech decided that it was a good idea to start clicking and tapping a pen on the chair," Duel said still glaring at Emmett.

"I have been sitting here for an hour, I'm bored out of my mind," Emmett tried to defend himself.

After Carlisle had calmed down Duel with promises of food, I saw that Edward's car was speeding towards the house. Warning Esme about the speeding vehicle, I turned to see Duel was trying to stand up from the bed that he was laying on.

"Stop, you will only hurt your hand further," Carlisle reasoned with the stubborn human.

"Don't patronize me, I know the leech that I injured is a tracker and he is locked on the human's scent," his knowledge surprised us all.

"We are going to be taking care of him," Edward said as he entered the room.

"I'm going to protect Bella with my life," I said putting my hand on Edward's shoulder.

Nodding in a slight daze he did something that surprised and outraged Carlisle. He grabbed the forearm of Duel and pulled him slowly to his feet. I saw that somehow they were having a mental conversation. Duel nodded and then he handed his large axe to Edward. What happened next surprised me, Edward, at the direction of Duel tore the chain off the axe and separated the two handles.

"Thanks leech," Duel took the axe and gave it a few test swings.

Carlisle finally broke out of his stupor, "What are you doing? You aren't fully healed and will only injure your hand more."

"Don't tell me things that I already know. I injured that leech and I have marked him as my kill," he explained finally lowering the axe.

"I will also protect the innocent, even if she keeps terrible company."

"As a doctor, I am not allowed to let my patient knowingly harm themselves," Carlisle began. "However as a father, I want all the help I need to protect my family."

"So who am I going with," Duel asked.

"You will be going with Bella as a human protector," Carlisle said and Edward immediately protested.

"He is crippled and I know that I could protect her better," Duel grunted at the crippled comment.

"Your scent will immediately draw him to where she is, Mr. Lover leech," Duel spat and looked around for something.

"Where are my clothes? I will look like a fool for walking around with only pants on."

Sighing in defeat, Carlisle pointed to the parlor. "Your clothes are there and I think that Emmett clothes will fit you as well."

"But his clothes are too restricting," Duel explained as he walked out of the small room into the parlor.

With his back turned to us I saw that he was muscular on the level of Emmett, but I saw that he had scars crisscrossing his back. The scars were varied in size from some wide and long to others that were short and thin. He walked back into the room clutching his woven shirt.

"I'm going to need some help putting this on," he said looking at us with a slight hint of shame.

Edward was looked over at Carlisle and Esme as if this proved his point more. In a way it did, but Carlisle helped Duel put his shirt on and then we began to pack. The plan was to take three different vehicles and go indifferent directions with a bag of Bella's clothes in each. Carlisle, Esme, and Edward would go north. Rosalie, Emmett, and Jasper were going East. Jasper said the only reason he was going with them was so that they didn't get distracted on the way.

I was going with Bella and Duel, and we would be heading south. I was worried about the whole stuck in the car with two humans. One was my friend yes but the other was a stranger who's blood attracted me like a moth to a flame.

"So I'm with Isabella," Duel grunted.

"Yeah. I as excited as you about this," I groaned.

"Don't be like that kitten. I thought we had a good relationship," he said grinning like a Cheshire Cat.

"What about that large axe," Bella asked the annoying human.

"Oh that, well when we stop I will be staying in the car."

"How are you going to protect her!" Edward demanded.

Duel took a moment to look at him, "The entire time we are going to be traveling and stopping very little."

"What about having to go to the bathroom," Bella asked still unsure about the whole thing.

"I will bring some bottles," he chuckled at the look Edward sent him.

"It doesn't matter, we will be leaving in a few minutes." Carlisle said taking charge.

"Before we go I need to do something. I want to see what is in his mind," Edward said looking at Carlisle.

"Fine, but make it quick," Carlisle relented.

"I would recommend that you don't wonder around. My mind is a very dangerous place."

Edward just looked ahead, diving into Duels mind. Not even a minute later he turned his back to Duel and looked down at his hands in slight agitation. He gave us the all clear and then we got ready to keep Bella safe.

"Looking through his thoughts was like wading through quicksand."

Nodding all of our heads, we got into our respective cars and started our fast driving. I drive while Bella sat next to me and she snuggled into the cool car seat. Duel sat in the back with his fur cloak draped over his lap.

"So how far are we going to be driving," Duel asked after a few minutes.

"We will be traveling until one of the other groups find and kill James," I told him glancing back.

"So that leech has a name besides my next kill," he joked, neither of us laughed.

"I will be staying awake on protection duty. Don't worry Isabella you are more important than my life." The melancholy in his voice screamed depression.

Ignoring the voice in the back of my head that if I comforted him and made him relax around me that I could feed on that delicious hearty blood. Shaking my head, I decided to concentrate only on the road after checking that Bella was indeed getting sleepy.

Bella POV

When the boy, who I still didn't refer to as Duel, said my life was important than his I remembered some Psychology classes that I had taken the previous year. He was putting himself down and making me the center of attention.

"So Bella, why did you chose to follow us," Alice asked driving fast.

A little startled I answered, "I knew that you guys would protect me."

"Yes, but why did you fall in love with Edward," her questions were confusing me.

"I don't know why, I just know that I love him," after I said that, the guy in the back seat grunted.

"The day that a vampire finds love is the day I open up a flower shop," Alice's eyes quickly glanced back to the other human in the car.

"Emmett and Rosalie found love, so did Carlisle and Esme," she reasoned.

"What about you and Jasper," I interrupted.

Her eyes snapped to my face in slight surprise. I had broken her out of her rant on true love, and she looked slightly confused. Then her eyes cleared and she answered my question,

"Jasper is like a brother to me. I only say I am dating him because the humans would not leave him alone if he were single," her explanation made a few things clearer to me.

While I noticed that Emmett was protective of Rosalie, he still held her in a different way than the way Jasper held Alice. I also notice the glances that the couple gave each other was similar to that of my mom and Phil.

"Just great, can you not include me in your conversation about feelings,"he grunted and turned his head down to his hands.

"Fine, you don't need to be so angry," I slightly scolded him.

"Love is a Concept that will only ever bring suffering," his somber voice hardened.

"I will not be discussing this anymore," he ended all conversation and we sat silently.

After the car ran out of gas, a few hours later, Alice stopped and refilled the gas. We decided to stop at a hotel and get some rest. We didn't want to damage the car, we were only an hour or so from where I used to live.

Ring Ring Ring Ring*

My phone started to ring and after checking the contact I saw that it was Edward. Rushing to answer the phone, I opened it and heard a familiar song.

"Hey Bella, how are you holding up," his calming voice soothed my worried.

"I'm doing good, we just stopped for a rest. Have you found James yet," I heard a sigh on the other side of the line.

"No, he somehow picked up the fact that you were not with us," he sounded distracted.

"Bella, Carlisle and I are going to pick you up. I promise you that I will protect you from everything," I could hear the desperation in his voice.

"Ok, but don't let Carlisle get in an accident because you are rushing," I said to calm him down slightly.

"Ok, but-," what he was going to say was cut of by my phone showing that I had another call.

Checking it I felt shock, "I have to go that is my mom. She is probably worried sick."

After he rushed some good byes, he hung up and I answered the call. I heard slightly breathing on the other side that was weird but continued anyway.

"Mom, don't worry about me. Charles is just over exaggerating it," when she didn't answer I got worried.

"It is amazing how low security is at your school," the voice chilled me to the bone "It didn't take Victoria much effort to find your old address."

It was James answering my mothers phone, "What have you done to her," I cried out.

"Nothing yet but keep me waiting and I can't promise that," I heard my mom calling my name from the background.

"Where do you want me," I said shaking slightly.

"How about your old ballet studio. Oh and bring the human that fought me before," his request startled me.

"How do you know he is with me," I asked panicking.

"I am a tracker. I can track more than one scent however," his voice was smug and he hung up.

Looking down at the phone in my hand, I started to make a instinctual plan. It would be difficult to get away from Alice, but even more difficult to get Duel to agree to come with me.

"Hey Alice,"she turned her head to me in questioning. "I'm wondering can you still not see Duel."

She had told me when we were driving that she could see anything but clouds and blood. I thought that was strange but the whole situation is strange to me.

"Yes, it has never happened to me before," her expression was one of bewilderment.

"I'm going to go check on him is that ok," I asked trying not to be suspicious.

"Sure, no problem Bella but be careful I can't fully see the future around him."

With her warning fading quickly, I tried to walk calmly out of the hotel lobby. I saw the car and I heard snoring coming from the backseat when I drew nearer to the car. I looked into the back window for confirmation and was relieved to see that Duel was sleeping heavily.

He rolled over onto his side and grunted with discomfort. His face was tense and wincing. I slowly opened the back door and as it slowly crept open I realized something. I had no idea what I was going to do next. See his smaller axe lay on the floor a hit of inspiration hit me quickly.

My hand, now holding the cracking axe in my grasp, lifted it to the the roof of the car and I swung the flat of the blade down. His eyes opened momentarily to see me but closed quickly as I hit him again with his own axe.

"I'm so sorry," I gasped out as I closed the door and bolted to the other side of the car and started down the road to my old dance recital hall.

As I rushed to the hall I thought of many people who would be furious and sad about what I had done. Charlie would blame himself and probably only remember the argument we had. Edward would blame Alice, Duel, and himself for my death that was imminent.

"I'm sorry," I choked out an apology between the tears that were building up in my eyes.

grunt*

I heard a noise of discomfort from the backseat and my body froze up. I glanced back and saw that Duel still had his eyes closed and the spot were I had hit him was bruising already.

"Fucking motherfucker," his low voice was gravelly and unhappy.

"I am going to maim that girl after the headache stops," he probably didn't realize that I was in the same vehicle as him.

"Are you ok," after I asked this I wanted to hit myself for being an idiot.

Of course he wasn't ok, he was kidnapped and hit in the head with his own weapon. Now he knew that I was in the car with him and he may get violently angry.

"You had better start explaining or else I'm goin—," whatever he was going to say was cut off as I stopped the car and he grunted his pain.

"We are here," my voice was shaking and when I looked at my hands they were too.

"Explain."

With that single word, I told him about the call and the demands of James. He nodded his head and then he grabbed the large axe in the backseat and opened the car door.

"I'm going in to kill this leech," his voice carried a note of finality.

"I have to come in as well. I will save my mom," I tried to show that I wasn't terrified but my hands shook slightly.

"Fine but I want you to go in 5 minutes after me. You stay in the car until then," his voice was unmoving.

Nodding my head I saw him walk slowly and slightly hunched into the door and beyond.

Duel POV

"Motherfucking asshole," I muttered as I saw the leech start playing a recording of what I assumed was Isabella's mother's voice calling out.

My voice was quiet but the blood sucker still seemed to hear me because his head turned to the exact place I was hiding.

"It seemed the Male is here first," he started to laugh in a cold and sadistic way.

"I know you are there why don't you come on out and we can finish the battle we started," he said after I didn't move from behind a pillar.

Tensing up all the muscles in my body that I needed, I felt the pain from the last bout of fighting. Feeling the adrenaline flowing strongly, I stepped out and prepared to fight the monster before me.

"It seemed like you should have been smarter leech," I said as I stopped 20 feet away from him.

Hehehehehh* "Oh really and how am I the stupid one. You walked up and challenged a vampire."

"Last time we fought I remember that you were the you who had to retreat," my words stopped his laughing and he growled.

His hand clenched and then I heard the loud footsteps of a person coming through the dance hall. And Isabella came tromping in with no stealth. Crying out for her mother and not noticing us entirely.

"Where is she," she cried out finally noticing us standing ready for battle.

"You are the fool, girl."

"I have only seen your mother never touched her," he punctuated he statement with a bone chilling laugh.

Deciding now was a good time to both attack and distract him, I rushed and kept me ax in a defensive posture. He reacted just as quickly and jumped back snarling. I didn't stop and continued to press him into making a mistake. He was quick and I was getting small wounds from where he punched a hole in my defense.

"Weak human, I thought you had more fight in you."

"Don't be a fool I'm saving my energy for the after party," I said snidely.

"I think you should. Just. Die," he deflected the ax downward and the sent a punch into my cheek.

I rolled and slammed my back into the back wall and I gasped in pain. Isabella began to yell at him and then he hit her across the face and then she fell to the ground in a heap. He continued to walk towards my down form and I knew that I was as good as dead.

"Looks like you weren't up for a second round human," he said as his cold form loomed over me.

"Looks like I will be *cough* on the other side before you, cocksucker."

His face twisted and he picked up my large form by the neck and then he bit my exposed neck and, not even waiting to savoring my taste, drew back tearing a piece of my throat out.

"You are a weakling and I will enjoy killing the other one," his cold voice echoed softly.

I opened my mouth to speak but the only thing that came out was gurgling noises. I was dying and I knew that I was not going to be able to be saved. I reached my injured hand out and tightly gripped his shoulder ignoring the pain. Tightening my grasp on my ax, I thought,

' _This is not how it should have ended. I will give this bastard one last present._ '

I pulled the trigger once, nothing major happened. Again and again I pulled the trigger until the ax was not ever Orange it was glowing white. The blood sucker's eyes widened as he saw what was happening and the the axe exploded from the pressure build up. And I saw nothing but red.

Bella's POV

I watching in silent horror as an explosion engulfed Duel and James. I could feel the heat all the way across the room. I saw a blur and then James was standing next to me.

"He was a mighty hunt to the very end," James said before turning his to me.

"Now you aren't going to be a fighter so let's make a little movie together." His sickening smile made me shiver down to my core.

 **WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO OUR DREAMY PROTAGONIST. IS HE GOING TO BECOME A VAMPIRE OR A WEREWOLF? IS HE GOING TO BE SAVED BE CARLISLE AT THE LAST MINUTE AND WHAT IS GOOING TO HAPPEN TO BELLA. I AM EXCITED TO FIND OUT.**

 **READ AND REVIEW**

 **Ghost Operation Systems signing out**


	3. Human?

**THIS IS A NEW CHAPTER OF MY STORY. I REALLY WANT SOME FEEDBACK AND REVIEWS FROM THE FANS. I CHANGED THE PAIRING AND AN EXPLANATION WILL BE GIVEN IF I GET A REVIEW. THE TWILIGHT FRANCHISE DOES NOT BELONG TO ME OTHERWISE I WOULD HAVE MADE IT MORE SIMILAR TO LIFE AND DEATH.**

Chapter 3: Human?

Bella's POV

Laying against the cold pillar, I stared blankly at the fire that was still burning from the suicide explosion by a person I didn't even know. I must have hit my head when I was hit by James because I couldn't stand up or think coherently.

"Almost ready my sweet beauty," James' sickly sweet voice rang thru my head as if he had a scarf around his mouth.

"I decided that because you won't fight I will make a little present for Eddy boy to discover over your dead body. It will be so _tragic_ , so very _delicious_."

He placed the camera on a stool that he brought over to my prone form. He pressed the record button and began talking,

"Hello Eddy boy. I will be presenting you will the one of a kind film of the death of Isabella Swan. I think of it as a romantic tragedy, I kill her and you swear vengeance I love it."

After he said this, he grabbed my face and pressed his sharp nails into my cheek cutting and letting pearls of blood drip slowly down my pale cheeks. I flinched but didn't give him the pleasure of hearing my cry. James' face tightened and he pressed a palm against my leg and then my world exploded into agony with the fracturing of my femur.

I could barely think of anything and I hear a voice that I think I recognized,

"- avenge her Edward as she cries out your name and I drain her of-" I didn't understand much else then my vision cleared enough to see James' face in my field of view. He lifted my hand and bit deeply into the exposed underside of my forearm.

"I am-" what he was going to saw was stopped by Edward ripping James off of me and throwing him against the far wall.

When Edward glanced at the fire that was still blazing brightly, his eyes dropped in sadness then his visage turned into a snarl as he grabbed James' throat.

"I will never forgive you for this," his usually gentle and silky voice was filled with anger.

"You are alone," he gasped out, "You are the fastest of your cloven but not the strongest." He mocked.

"Strong enough to tear you apart," Edward then was pushed off by James.

Suddenly the fire on the other side of the room extinguished and a hulking shape leaped out of it, I heard a ground shaking bellow of rage and Duel emerged from the fire.

My mind must not have been operating properly form the pain of a broken leg because what I saw was not possible. Duel's tattered shirt was nearly completely burned off of his body and his pants had patches that were on fire.

His bald head was blistering and red, but his eyes were the most terrifying thing. They were entirely black.

He released another bellow and charged at James and then my vision went dark as I tried to withstand the pain of my leg and the burning in my hand before I fell into a dark area.

Edward's POV

I was angry and it was hard to concentrate but I knew that what I was seeing rush out of the flames was not normal. It resembled the human that had left with Bella but he was injured and on fire.

He didn't even notice the fire but his outstretched hand grabbed the throat of James and then slammed him against the hardwood floor.

"Well it looks like the amusing human survived," James laughed before his throat was squeezed tighter

I noticed that the hand that he was holding the tracker down was his previously uninjured right hand. The hand was charred black and was leaking blood.

Before my very eyes, I saw the the blackened skin started to peel off in large patches. Instead of blood flowing out, I saw a healthy layer of pink skin with blood layered on it.

"What are you," James gasped out in shock.

Duel said nothing but growl and tighten his grip. I was still in shock from the fact that he made me back up in slight fear when he charged at James the first time.

 **"Døden til alle blodetere,"** was the rough and unnatural voice that came from the bald figure.

Deciding not to get in that thing's way, I blurred over to the side of my unconscious lover. Her pale skin was a sickly green and her leg underneath her was clearly broken at an odd angle. I turned back just in time to see Duel swing James overhead and throw him into a far wall.

"You shouldn't even be alive you monster," James cried out in fear as the still smoldering human walked in a uncoordinated gait.

"What is going on here," Carlisle asked me hovering protectively over Bella.

"I don't know I got here and I thought that Duel was dead but then he turned into that," I said pointing at the raging form that was beating James into the ground.

"It shouldn't be possible for him to move that way. He had torn muscles all over his body and from what I am seeing he has second and third degree burns on his body," Carlisle deducted looking at the raging human.

"What is going on here," Emmet asked standing over us.

Before I could repeat my story, Bella started to thrash and her eyes shot open. She started to cry and beg for the burning to stop. In the shock of what had happened to Duel, I had foolishly forgotten that she had been bitten.

"He bite too deeply into her Ulnar artery, she is bleeding out too quickly. The venom however is spreading slowly through her system." He paused and looked at me.

"You have a choose, suck out the venom and possibly lose her or you can keep pressure and let her change fully."

"You know that I don't want her to endure a life like ours," I responded as I bent over to suck out the venom.

As I started the painful, for both me and her, process of getting the venom out of her system I heard Duel bellowing something that sounded like Do. I saw Alice, Emmett, and Rosalie inching slowly towards the hunched over form of Duel and James. The sweet and tangy taste of Bella's blood was overwhelming my senses.

Finally getting pulled off of Bella's limp figure by Carlisle, I saw that James was no longer moving and Duel was breathing heavily. I heard James groan and I realized what Duel had done, he had injured James, with his bare hands, to the point were he could barely remain awake while regenerating.

"Hey bud are you ok," Emmett foolishly asked.

Snapping his head to our group, I felt a flash of fear from his intensely wrathful gaze. Unlike our eyes, which only the pupil turned black, when we are hungry, his were entirely black; pupil, iris, and sclera.

"Emmett I don't think you should have done that," Alice said curling her hand into a fist.

Duel, at first, seemed to be moving based on the sound of our voices but now he was staring directly at Alice and his uneven gait was stopped.

 **"Min,"** he growled out.

"Do you understand what he is saying," Alice asked Carlisle.

"No, it sounds Northern European though," he whispered back trying not to draw Duel's attention to himself.

It worked because Duel just stared at Alice and it seemed as though he had finally calmed down. His eyes were drooping and his arms were loose against his shirtless side.

Alice took this as a sign to approach and took a extremely cautious step forward. Suddenly his hands clenched and his eyes sharpened. I leap in front of Alice to shield her but Duel didn't lunge at her but rather spun around to shove his hand into James' open mouth.

While we were focused on Duel and not making him attack, James must have recovered enough to stand and make one last attempt to kill his prey. He was a proud hunter (in his mind) and he had been beaten down by his prey. It was humiliating on many levels so he refused to flee.

Biting down on the hand that was shoved into his mouth, Duel released a yell of pain and rage, but he used his other hand to grab the lower jaw of James and pulled down.

Witnessing what we thought was impossible, we simply stood and watched in horrific fascination as Duel ripped James' jaw completely off and proceeded to smash his bleeding fists into the cracking face of James.

"I think that we need to start a fire for when he exhausts himself," Jasper said watching the display of brutality loosely.

"Yes that is a good idea," Carlisle then ordered use to use the wood flooring to make a fire.

"What is his emotional state right now Jas," Alice asked not taking her eyes off Duel.

"I closed off my senses to him because his raw emotions would effect me on a deep level. More importantly, Alice how are you holding up with the amount of blood that he is losing in front of you," he asked her.

"I don't even notice the sweet scent over the brutality," despite that she couldn't take her eyes off of him.

I saw that Emmett, Rosalie, and Esme had started a tall blazing inferno and were waiting for Duel to finish.

Finally it seemed that Duel was exhausted because he collapsed in a shivering heap next to the deformed body of James.

"Do you think he will be ok," I asked Carlisle feeling slightly guilty.

"He should be fine if he remains still and doesn't make his wounds worse," he said then gasped.

"What is he doing," Alice yelled as she saw Duel prop himself up on his arms and dragged himself over to the blazing fire.

Esme tried to walk over to him but Rosalie held her back and shook her head. Esme blinked away tears and turned her back to the human. He flopped down and rolled onto his back.

Noticing his eyes were still black, I mentally told Alice to be careful as she approached him. She flicked her fingers in annoyance and gingerly took another step forward until she stood over him.

"Hey are you ok you big grump," she whispered softly.

 **"Engel,"** he growled out before gripping his mangled hand.

"What can I do for you," she said still standing but leaning ever so slightly over him.

He growled and then gripped the limp, mangled left hand and pulled with considerable strength. The still slightly pink appendage pulled free in one massive heave. The little blood that did squirt from the now useless limb landed on Alice's shocked face.

"NNNNOOOOOO," Alice cried as she ignored the blood and tried to stop Duel from hurting himself any further.

He ducked from her attempt and lashed out his arm to the fire. The smell of charred flesh filled all of our noses and we gagged on the powerful scent. I immediately stopped breathing to try in an effort to control myself.

Alice had none of that luck because she had been right in front of the blood and he was her singer. She started to twitch and Emmett got behind her and then pressed the back of her neck.

"She was about to lose control," he said even though we all knew why he had done it.

"Let's get both of them to a hospital. I think Bella will be ok in a local hospital, if any of you want to stay just in case of anything," Carlisle then lifted the now unconscious Duel onto shoulder and then said.

"I feel like he will be needing more intense care that I will need all of my tools and concentration to help save. He has lost nearly two liters of blood I think, received second and third degree burns to his arms and upper body, and finally he has lost his entire left hand with not hope of reattachment."

When he listed off all of those injuries I felt horrible because I had asked this human, whom was not even supposed to be involved, to protect Bella with everything he had. I could only watch as he was taken away to be healed by Carlisle.

 _~Time skip~_

Carlisle POV

After six intense hours of operating I had stabilized Duel to the level where he was no longer in danger of dying immediately. I had wrapped bandages around his entire body in an attempt to stop the burns from becoming infected.

His injuries were far worse than I had expected: a concussion, broken ulna, several broken ribs, patches of second degree burns to his right arm and chest, cuts and other scratches all over his body, ripped muscles in his back and arm, and finally his torn off limb.

I was shocked to see that he was even breathing after taking a punishment like that. A normal human's body would have shut down by now from those injuries but he stubbornly clung to life.

"You are either a super human or extremely lucky," I said to the comatose boy hooked up to a myriad of different machines.

"I feel as though it may have been a mercy to have let you die. Because what is coming is going to very well break that indomitable will of yours," I said before turning and walking out of the room.

After I finished his surgery I had taken multiple blood samples to see what was going on with his body. I had to wait for a few minutes for the results so I calmly walked down the hall and into my office where the blood was safely stored.

"What? Is this even possible," I asked out loud when I saw the results of his blood work.

He had massive amounts of oxygen and adrenaline present in his system. His iron count was about 40% higher than a normal persons levels and finally the most shocking of all was fact that he had ten times the amount of stem cells in his system than a child were it at its highest.

"You could be classed as a medical miracle for this,"I said standing up from a microscope with a few drops of his blood to confirm the lab results.

A knock on my door shook me out of my stupor, I said it was fine to come in after putting away all of Duel's results. It was Esme's concerned visage that greeted my exhausted form.

"How are you doing," she asked me in her kind voice.

"I am shocked and surprised that he even survived long enough for me to give him a transfusion," I said to her displeasure.

"I knew he would be fine," see my surprise she walked up and took me in her arms softly. "After all he has the best doctor in the world taking personal care of him."

Nodding my head to her kind words, I simple began to wrap my arms tightly around her form. Murmuring in the comfort of her warm, kind aura, I just began to release all of the results of his body and blood testing.

"His regenerative ability is super human, honey."

"He makes enough hemoglobin for three people and twice as fast."

I just let her realize the possibility of that. And when I had held her for long enough I let her go and told her his room number. She rushed off at Olympic athlete speed to get to his room. And I only watched her rush before turning back to the samples and holding that I could uncover another secret.

Esme POV

Seeing the human boy wrapped in bandages and a cast on his right arm. I was saddened and couldn't stop myself from crying a little. He will power was so bright before this but now it was comparable to the smoldering coals of a dying fire.

"N-ev-er," he murmured.

Looking at his heart monitor, I saw that it had spiked and I quickly pressed the morphine button that was on the rail of his gulley.

His heart beat calmed and I saw his body relax to a comfortable sleep. I felt protective of this young man because my maternal instincts were going into overdrive from his vulnerable state.

"Don't worry. I will protect you until you die," I promised and I knew that I would do anything to insure that it was kept.

 **AND THAT IS A WRAP ON AN EMOTIONAL SCENE WITH ESME. I HAVE ALWAYS LOVED HER CHARACTER. I AM GOING TO BE CONTINUING WITH THE STORY DIRECTION UNTIL I AM GET A REVIEW.**

 **Død til alle blodetere-Death to all blood eaters**

 **Dø-Die**

 **Min-Mine**

 **Engel-Angel**

 **PLEASE REVIEW MY STORY**

 **Ghost Operation Systems signing out**


	4. Awakening

**I'M SORRY THAT I HAVE NOT BEEN POSTING ANYTHING RECENTLY. I HAD A MAJOR OPERATION THAT HAVE TAKEN MY FOCUS OFF OF MY WRITING AND I AM SORRY ABOUT THAT. I HOPE YOU ENJOY THIS CHAPTER EVEN THOUGH I THREW IT TOGETHER IN A DAY. AND DON'T FORGET I DON'T OWN THE TWILIGHT FRANCHISE**.

Chapter 4: Awakening

Duel's POV

The darkness that surrounded me was comforting in the fact that I couldn't concentrate on anything. Who was I anyway? I didn't remember anything, but why would I need to remember anything?

Suddenly it came rushing back to me, and I looked around erratically in the darkness of my mind. I saw and heard nothing, I couldn't speak or feel anything. A dull flame flickered off to what I assumed to be my left. Turning my body and moving towards the fire, I noticed that it was closer then what I had previously assumed. Within a few steps, I was already standing in front of the flickering fire. I felt a warmth that spread through my body that comforted me but it was extinguished by a dark cold voice.

 **"Din vilje til å leve har blitt redusert til disse patetiske smolderingene."**

"Who are you," I yelled into the darkness trying to shield the flame.

 **"Jeg er den du har forsøkt å undertrykke. Husker du hva jeg sa til deg alle de årene siden."**

"Why are you even speaking this language," I asked still trying to shield the flame from the booming voice.

 **"Jeg gjør det for å ære dem som kom før, nå forlatt meg, jeg har blitt sliten av din tilstedeværelse,"** the booming voice shouted.

I felt the flame explode in heat behind me. The blaze now covered everything and the once dark empty space was filled with light and I felt my eyes open.

The beeping and brightness of the room was the first thing that fully registered in my mind. My body then started to hurt so badly that I released a pained grunt. I heard a voice, that I couldn't fully understand, speaking rapidly and I felt my pain melt away from my body.

My eyes finally adjusted properly to the light and my vision cleared. I saw that my eyes had a white linen near the edges and I saw a truly heart warming sight. Esme was sitting at my bedside and held a remote in between her fingers.

Her face was slightly different from what I remembered; her eyes were black, her visage was chalky, and the lines around her eyes were etched a little deeper. I could feel like she had put too much pressure on herself, but why would she do that for a stranger like me?

"Are you feeling better," her soft voice gave me a sense of my situation.

I opened my mouth and tried to say something but my throat was ragged and the only thing that left my throat was a grunt/cough. Understanding my problem, she grabbed something out of my field of vision and brought a plastic cup of water to my uncovered lips.

Greedily drinking the cool liquid, I found that my throat was feeling much better. I gratefully nodded but winced at the sore muscles in my neck and pretty much all over my body.

"Are you ok now," she asked.

"Yeah," I groaned out, "I feel like I got tenderized in a meat grinder."

She smiled slightly at that but her face quickly adopted a scolding visage. I knew what was going to happen but it still didn't prepare me.

"I am thoroughly upset with you. We didn't know if you were going to survive even with the blood transfusions," her eyes burrowed into me.

"You have been asleep for nine days and you died more than once."

 _"Sorry for concerning you,"_ I whispered under my breath.

She smiled and took my right hand and then I felt my eyes drift close but I fought off the urge to sleep.

"How is lover leech and his girl," I asked tensing my body.

"They are safe, everyone is ok and James is dead," I relaxed my burning muscles and then I asked something foolish.

"I want you to sit me up," seeing her begin to protest I spoke quickly. "I need to sit up so that I can converse easier."

"But what if you hurt yourself?"

"I will deal with the momentary pain but I need this," my voice was slightly begging.

After a moments of silence, she started to raise my hospital bed extremely slowly. I grunted with pain but I pushed through it and was comfortably sitting up.

"Do you want a pillow to set under your arm," she gentle asked gesturing towards my numb left arm.

"What happened to me," I asked feeling foggy.

After a hesitant look at me, "Do you not remember what happened?"

"I remember fighting the tracker but after I detonated my battle axe I have no concrete memories. Only flashes," my response made her eyes turn slightly downcast.

"I think that after what happened to you, memory loss is to be expected."

She then explained all my injuries and then explained how I had acted like a wild beast to fight James. I felt dread as she continued her explanations about how I tore off my destroyed hand and how I only calmed down when the butch-kitten approached me.

"Do you have any comments on this," she asked when she was finished.

Telling her that I had no idea what had happened was difficult for me, she had been caring and kind since I had meet her and I felt like I was betraying her. But the alternative was even worst, and I figured since I was going to be leaving in a couple months I better not get attached.

After she left, clearly not believing me, I watched as the doctor came in and gave me a check up.

"You, my friend, are extremely lucky to be alive," Carlisle said.

"I know the mother hen explained my situation very throughly."

Nodding, he continued his evaluation and gave me the necessary instructions on the pain medication. I was healing faster than a normal person but I was still healing nevertheless. My entire left side was in shambles with a broken arm, broken ribs, and my missing hand. My right side wasn't much better with pretty bad burns and tons of torn muscles. I couldn't even stand to piss much less bath.

"I hope the nurses are cute at least," I mused.

"Don't think so bud. We are going to be taking you to our house and taking care of you there," a cocky voice interrupted my thoughts.

Standing at the entrance to my room was the annoying leech how had been assigned as my babysitter back at the house. His name started with an E- I'm pretty sure.

"Which leech are you again?" I deadpanned.

"How could you forget me? It's Emmett, the one who is stunningly handsome," he puffed out his chest

Ignoring his boasting, I saw that behind him was a nervous looking Isabella and equally nervous lover leech. They entered the room quietly and sat next to my bed. They faces had guilt and shame written all over them.

"I am going to be out of these bandages in no time," I said breaking the ice.

"I really sorry," Isabella's miserable voice was extremely low in volume.

I saw that her arm was wrapped in bandages and she had a boot on her leg. She shouldn't be apologizing, she couldn't do anything against him.

"I hold no anger against you. I mean it would be foolish if I did," I explained trying to get her out of her misery.

"Lover boy can attest to the fact that there was nothing you could have done," I gestured my stiff neck at the eternal boy sitting next to her.

I watched as he comforted her and I thought to my own complicated relationships. I had a neutral relationship with a majority of this family, but I was on rocky terms with the sharp-tongued blonde as well as the short tomboy. Edward was (hopefully) indebted to me for sacrificing so much to save his girl.

"When will I be leaving the hospital," I asked the question that Emmett had started in my head.

"You will be able to travel in a few hours, once we get everything prepared for your stay," Edward spoke for the first time.

"I will be moving out as soon as possible so don't worry," I tried to reassure them.

Their eyes dipped slightly at my statement but quickly lifted as I told them to leave me to take a nap. They left with assurances about a comfortable bed to sleep in later and I drifted into an upright sleep.

Alice POV

I can't believe this. I can foresee that Duel getting moved into the house and there is no alternative. When Esme come to tell me about the new occupant, I was upset and I let her know this immediately.

"Why are you doing this to me," I pleaded with her.

"He can't stay in the hospital and there is no known family in the area to take care of him," her voice was soft, but I saw a layer of steel under her tone.

I knew that when she went into her mama-bear-protection mode there was no stopping her. It was comparable to a hurricane or another powerful force of nature. All other arguments died in my throat, and I pleaded with her not to let him too close to me.

"So I take it that you still aren't happy that he is staying with us," Jasper said entering my room after Esme had left.

"I wasn't happy when he was going to recover here for a week or so. Now that he is going to be here for months. I am," a slight pause, "passive," I said trying to find the right words.

He sighed and sat down on my bed. I knew that he could feel the frustration that was oozing out of me. I didn't hate the strange human, I just felt strange around him. He attracted me with his blood, but I was wary because he was, by his admission, a vampire killer. His attitude helped me be a little rougher than I normally would be. He was like a cactus, if I had to liken him to something, prickly on the outside with tough skin but I could feel underneath he was protective.

"I just don't know what to do. I have never felt this way around anyone before," at my statement Jasper started to laugh.

"You know I watched something similar on TV when Rosalie made me watch a soap opera to better understand human interactions," he teased me and I hit his arm.

"I am not a love struck little girl," I hissed at him.

He just grinned and turned his head muttering something about little vampire.

"Oh, that is it," I shouted before tackling him and dragging him through my open window.

I tried to wrestle him against the fallen leaves, but due to his military training and experience fighting I was quickly pinned and I noticed that both of our eyes were black. I tried to maneuver my way from underneath him but no such luck.

"Ok, I give. I really need to go hunting if Duel is going to be coming and living here today," I said as Jasper grinned.

"And I am still the undisputed champion. You need to workout more if you want to impress Duel. I imagine his is attracted to powerful women," he teased.

"Shut up! I don't have any romantic feelings for him," I exclaimed finally breaking free.

I dusted off my jacket and pants, but I was giving Jasper the evil eye. He was not going to let this rest. And he knew what I was going to say based on my emotions (I was admittedly often led by my emotions).

"Well, kitten I don't exactly think you are my type either. A bit too long in the tooth," a strained baritone said.

Turning my head with dread, I saw one of my current problems being pushed in a wheelchair. His bandages around his head and neck had been removed and I saw that the only things that were bandaged were his arms and his upper chest. However he did have a cast on his right arm.

"Don't provoke her," Emmett cautioned still pushing Duel.

"You are still not allowed to move, and the way she is eyeing you I wouldn't be first to stand between you two," I felt my instincts taking over and I ran as fast as I could away.

For just a brief moment I was thinking about how I could have taken all the sweet blood that I wanted and he could not stop me. I was snapped back by a blur known as Carlisle. His face was concerned and I knew that he was going to give me one of his famous speeches.

"I know that you are going to be having issues with this," oh this is going to be fun.

"But if we didn't take him in, he would have been turned over to someone who probably wouldn't take care of him properly."

"What is the real reason Carlisle? It doesn't make sense that you wouldn't just leave him until he is healed enough to leave the hospital," I said sitting down on a fallen tree.

"I have many reasons. Firstly, He knows about us, and that makes him dangerous. And you saw it yourself there is something about him that is not normal," I said sitting down next to me.

"I don't want to risk someone's safety if he went out of control."

I now understood what the primary issue was, Carlisle didn't know what set him off or even if he had any control over the transformation. I saw what he did to a seasoned tracker, it was as terrifying as it was impressive.

"I'm going to need to hunt every week or so just to stay in control," I told him.

He just nodded and wished me a happy hunt. He left and I started to look for a deer to gorge myself on. I found one two minutes north of me and took off running.

Duel POV

After seeing the little vampire blur, I could feel Esme's disappointed stare directed at me. I was slightly cowed at that because I knew that I had intentionally irritated the vampire.

"You shouldn't mock her like that. She was very scared that she was going to hurt you," Esme said making me feel slightly bad about what I had done.

"I don't know if it is the fact that I have a concussion or I am currently under the influence of medication, but I will try to apologize to her," at my admission Esme took over pushing me into the house.

I was relieved at this because Emmett for all his size was not the gentlest pusher. I saw that the modern house was decorated with different pieces. Some were nature themes others were urban and technological.

I saw a living room and a kitchen just past an island. I was lifted suddenly by Esme and placed on the sofa in a slightly reclined position. She then processed to walk into the kitchen and I heard the changing of things. I saw the sharp tongued blonde led my babysitter upstairs. I could see that Emmett had an exasperated look as he was led because he looked in my direction and sighed slumping his shoulders.

Edward I saw only a few minutes later as he walked in with his hands in front of him nervously clutching them.

"What is wrong this time," I said initiating the conversation.

"In about a week and a half we have our junior prom," he said not looking at me.

"And."

"Bella is going to be going out and I am nervous about if I do something wrong," his slightly panicked tone intrigued me.

"You are nervous about taking a girl who is decades younger than you to a dance that you have probably done many times," I asked to clarify.

See his head dip in agreement, I could only shake my head in irritation. He was about a century old and he acted like a little boy in love, I was getting embarrassed by his spinelessness.

"You have to be kidding me," I exclaimed. "Are you an immortal apex predator or not. Vamp up and grow a set of balls."

He gave me a look of shock with his jaw hung low. He mimicked a goldfish for a few seconds, and I heard a chuckle behind me. Not being able to turn my body, I waited for the one who was laughing.

"I have been trying to get him to calm down for days and you do it in a single conversation," Jasper said as he came into my peripheral vision.

"I am probably a little more helpful because of my concussion," I replied closing my eyes.

That seemed to snap Edward out of his daze, "Do you need any pain medicine?"

"No, I just want a cold compress on my forehead."

"We don't have any of those here," Edward replied.

"What the hell? You guys dragged me out of my perfectly comfortable hospital bed for this shit."

Cracking my eye, I saw that they were both looking down and then I saw their eyes meet and a silent conversation was held in front of me. I was surprised (and very grateful) to see Esme walking into our little vampire love therapy session. In her hands was a steaming plate of food and I couldn't help but think of how long I had been drifting. It had only felt like ten or so minutes but apparently it had been longer.

"I reheated some mushrooms and then I steamed a trout for protein," she said as the delicious smell beckoned to me.

Nodding, I watched her sit on a chair that she had pulled up. I felt slightly embarrassed and pride damaging because not only did I have to rely on this group of vampires but I was also at their mercy.

That was not a pleasant thought, but my thought were quickly filled with the mouth watering scent of the steamed fish. I think that I must have zoned out after the first amazing mouthful because I felt a cool hand press against my forehead.

"You are surprisingly warm, maybe we should have waited until tomorrow to bring you here," Esme's soothing voice said with concern.

"I'm fine just a headache, I will be all right in a few days or so," my flippant response caused her to frown but she continued feeding me.

After finishing my food, I leaned my head back against a pillow and I felt my eyes drift slowly shut. I knew that in my heart of hearts I was going to be staying with my sworn emery for the foreseeable future.

My eyes opened just as quickly were I felt my body jolt. I saw that the darkness of the night had fallen and I was still nursing a stiff body. I looked around with only minimal success, and I saw, after a few seconds of adjusting, that I had been prodded by a pale hand.

"Why are you here butch kitten?" I asked.

Her wide, bright eyes staring intensely at my sleepy form. I saw her raise a hand to touch me and I could feel my death was imminent.

 **AND THAT WRAPS UP A HOPEFULLY SUCCESSFUL CHAPTER. I REALIZE THAT I DIDN'T DESCRIBE THE BURNING AXES ALL THAT WELL. FOR THE SMALLER ONE IT IS SIMILAR TO A LONG HANDLE BEARDED HATCHET. THE LARGE AXE I STYLED OFF OF A REGULAR BATTLE AXE. I WILL TRY TO UPDATE MORE FREQUENTLY BUT MY INJURY HAS TAKEN ALOT OUT OF ME. I WILL TRY TO MAKE THE NEW MOON ARC OF MY STORY LENGTHY WITH LOTS OF HEARTY ACTION AND FLUFFNESS. PLEASE LEAVE REVIEWS ABOUT ANYTHING YOU NEED.**

 **Translations**

 **Your will to live has been reduced to these pathetic smoldering embers-Din vilje til å leve har blitt redusert til disse patetiske smolderingene**

 **I am the one who you have tried to suppress. Do you remember what i said to you all those years ago-Jeg er den du har forsøkt å undertrykke. Husker du hva jeg sa til deg alle de årene siden**

 **I do it to honor the ones who came before, now leave me I have grown tired of your presence-Jeg gjør det for å ære dem som kom før, nå forlatt meg, jeg har blitt sliten av din tilstedeværelse**

 **Ghost Operation Systems signing out.**


	5. New House? New People? New Friends?

**I WROTE THIS CHAPTER AS FAST AS I COULD WITHOUT (hopefully) SACRIFICING THE QUALITY OF MY WORK. THIS CHAPTER IS GOING TO BE THE TRANSITION INTO NEW MOON AND I AM GOING TO TRY TO PUMP OUT A CHAPTER AS FAST AS I CAN. I DON'T OWN THE TWILIGHT FRANCHISE, I ONLY TAKE OWNERSHIP OF MY CHARACTER UNLESS STEPHANIE MEYERS WANTS TO BUY THE RIGHTS TO HIM. HAHAHAHAHA. READ AND ENJOY.**

Chapter 5: New House? New People? New Friends?

Duel POV 

Her eyes stared unblinking at me and I felt a growing dread, but I didn't break her stare. Her hand seemed to be in slow motion and I was only thinking of one thing.

"So are you here to finish me off," I asked as she slowly reached for me.

She recoiled as if she had been burned, "I-I-I don't—"

"If you are going to kill me at least don't let me turn. I would hunt you down and kill the both of us," her hand had stopped, I noticed.

"I just want to talk," her soft voice could have been mistaken for a mouse.

I snorted and felt a pain shoot through my chest. It was a lancing burning pain that probably came from my broken ribs. I began lightly coughing and that only made the pain worse.

"Here," her panicked voice was now right next to me.

In her hand were two pills and she put them out for me to grab. I coughed again but gave her a look of ' _Are you stupid?_ '. She quickly got the message because she brought the pills to my slightly parted lips. I took the pills with some difficulty because of a sore throat, but the pain and coughing subsided.

"Why are you here?" I asked after the fast acting pills dulled the burning pain.

"I," again she hesitated, "I had something that I need to talk about with you."

"What?" Of all the things I had imagined this was one of the things that I had dismissed as impossible.

"I need to talk to you about our situation," her voice was tired and resigned.

Nodding my tired head, I relaxed my tensed body and got ready to listen. She sat in the chair that Esme had pulled up to feed me and left there. Her short hair had a slight curl at the nape of her neck I noticed. Shaking my head of those thoughts, I listened with lidded eyes.

"I have been edgy around you because you are my singer," seeing my confused look she elaborated.

"A singer is like catnip to a vampire. It drives all away all of our intelligence," i snorted at that earning me a glare.

"We struggle to contain our hunger unless we have feed recently and we often try to stay away from them," she finished squinting at me.

I could tell by her body language that this was very difficult for her to admit her faults. Her explanation made the seed of guilt, that my primary caregiver had planted, to bloom. I tried to comfort her the best that way I could,

"I'm sorry that my existence is troubling. Usually girls find me charming," I joked trying to break the tension.

"Don't say that with a straight face. You are bald with no eyebrows and stubble on your ugly mug," her tone was noticeably lighter and I felt better.

Why did I felt good complimenting a leech? Why was she different? With all the other Cullen's I felt a distance, even nurturing Esme had a distance, but with this short, butch vampire it was different. If I hadn't teased her earlier today, then I wouldn't have had the excuse to start a conversation with her.

"I need my sleep, just go back to doing what ever you blood addicts do a night," I said yawning.

"Ok, I will go back to my awesomeness," she practically did a little dance as she went to her room.

Suddenly a voice spoke up from the entry hallway, "You know when I entered and saw her about to wake you up, I was worried. But seeing you handle the situation I am very pleased."

As it turns out, my awkward conversation with the kitten had been overheard by Jasper. The smirking jackass was leaning against the wall and I was tempted to try and stand to beat his ass. I glared at him and if looks could kill, he would be vaporized.

"It is nice to sense a happier feeling being emitted by Alice. She has been very down lately and I am surprised you have such a sensitive side," I felt my face heat up from his teasing.

"I am going to close my eyes and when I open them, if you are still there I will raise an unholy racket," I threatened lightly.

After I closed my eyes, I felt a breeze around me. I didn't even bother to open my eyes again before I drifted into a (hopefully long) peaceful sleep.

 _~Time Skip: Late Morning~_

Feeling refreshed and ready to try more somethings, I opened my eyes to nearly start gagging at the sight in front of me. The annoying blonde was in the lap of Emmett, and they were in the middle of a heavily petting session.

"Goddamn it! Why are you doing this here? Just leave me alone," I yelled trying not to strain my body.

"I thought you should be getting up soon anyway," the fair skinned blonde snarked.

She still had herself draped over Emmett in a clearly sexual nature. I was still reeling from the images that they had forced on me. I wasn't a prudish person, but to have it paraded so openly in public was slightly shocking.

"I thought I heard you scolding them," Esme giggled walking into the living room.

I hadn't taken much time to study my surroundings, a foolish mistake on my part, because I noticed that the room, that I was currently lounging in, was very open with large windows and as much light as normal shone in this dreary town shone. I looked around and saw that the other occupants of the house were coming down to the first floor.

Jasper, the smug bastard, was wearing a button down shirt with the sleeves rolled. His hands had some different colors speckled on them. He looked my way and winked. I fought off a growl and settled for glaring heatedly. I was so going to maim him if I ever fully recovered.

Edward was the second vampire to enter my field of vision. He was dressed in a short sleeve T-shirt and a pair of jeans. He was glancing down at his phone and sighing. I knew that he was in "love" with the Swan girl, but I didn't think that he was that reliant on her responses. In my mind if he didn't buck up, he was going to lose her to another.

The final vampire to descend the stairs, that seemed to mock me, was the one that I had been anticipating the most. It was the kitten, and she looked interesting for a vampire. Her short hair was currently sticking up and I was wondering if the things I saw in her hair was all an elaborate hallucination. I blinked and shook my head to see if I was imagining it. As it turns out, I was not imagining it my eyes just thought that her spikes had something else in them

"Why does my life have to be so miserable," I said to myself.

"I certainly hope that you aren't including my cooking in that," Esme said as she walk towards me with a glass of water and a bowl of something.

I ate the plain oatmeal that was feed to me with great vigor. I washed the delicious breakfast with the glass of water and then I waited for something to happen.

 _~Time Skip: Prom Night~_

I waited for something to happen and nothing happened in the ten days that I had been staying at Vampire HQ. The doctor vampire, Carlisle, had fully diagnosed me with all of my injuries.

The torn muscles in my back and arms were healing nicely considering they were just simple tears not completely torn. My concussion made it difficult for me to concentrate and gave me headaches that I had to place something cold on my forehead to relieve. I could lift my right arm a little above my head and wiggle my fingers with full dexterity. My left arm was now out of the sling but with heavy bandages, same with my fractured ribs.

The burns on my body stung and had to have a salve applied every 10 hours or so. I could walk but my stamina had diminished and my chest would hurt. Esme had been helping me the most with the things that I had need to do. It was embarrassing when I was practically held down as I tried to stop her from changing my clothes and giving me a bath. The entire coven had agreed because my oder had reached a level that distracted them.

Emmett was laughing the entire time until he noticed that Rosalie had been staring at me the entire time my shirt was off. As he dragged her off, I saw that her eyes were black. The kitten had been glaring at me for the rest of the day and had even skipped our nightly talk.

That was another thing that had changed, the kitten had woken me up again to speak to me. I didn't really speak during these conversations just listen to her talk about fashion and how Isabella was recovering. This was currently one of those talks,

"-and then she said that she was actually considering not going! I can't believe her! I even lent her one of my-"

"Why are you doing this," I interrupted her hysterical story.

Her mouth stopped moving as she was cut off so abruptly. She looked at me in confusion for a few seconds and I knew that I was not going to like her response.

"I don't know what you mean. I am talking with you mostly because your and I are both bored," the way she said it so factually hurt.

"Yeah, I knew that I was just making sure you hadn't fallen for me. That would prove troublesome for your mate Jasper," at my words her faced turned to me and I knew something was different.

She didn't say anything just keep her head turned from me. I knew that I had broken her concentration and any hope of a good conversation. I decided to do something stupid,

"Hey butch," seeing her glare was funny.

"Wanna crash the prom?"

Her eyes lit up and she ran upstairs to get not only herself a cute outfit but me a suit from Emmett as his were the only ones broad enough in the shoulders. I heard some thumping around up and five minutes later Jasper was being dragged by his ear down the stairs.

"I brought him to help change you into a button down shirt," her smile was blinding as was her appearance.

She had quickly changed into a black spaghetti strap dress. It was accented by a dark red that made her skin shine even without the sun. I was temporarily speechless, but I watched her walk up to my now standing form. She was short, but that was part of her charm right now.

"I got you something basic. No ties or any other fancy things. I got you just a pair of black slacks and your boots," while she said this she pushed the clothes into Jasper's arms.

He gave me an amused smirk as I watched the pixie-like vampire prance to the door. I huffed and took my customized shirt off along with the baggy sweatpants that accompanied it. So there I was of a vampire, my sworn enemy, with only bandages, a cast, and my hospital issued underwear.

"So are you going to make this more awkward," I said gruffly.

"No, I was just admiring your body," that statement made my skin crawl.

"Listen, I know that I am not gay in any shape or form of the word," he held up his hands and made me sit down on the couch so I didn't fall over.

It took a little while longer because I had to not only squeeze my thin cast through the sleeve hole but also my left arm that had the thick bandages. In ten minutes, I was standing in a white button down shirt with black pants and a black belt. My boots ruined the sophisticated look but I didn't care, they gave me stability and comfort.

"Wow. You actually clean up pretty nice," the pixie-kitten said as she came back with a set of car keys in her hands.

"Yes well, don't we have a dance to invade," I joked as we left behind the possibly gay vampire.

As we were walking out, Carlisle and Esme noticed how I was dressed and started to smile. I nodded my head to them as Alice led me to a sleek Volvo and I got into the plush interior and was immediately filled with terror as she shot out of the driveway at a speed that I was sure was against the law.

"Why must you do this to me," I asked her.

"What, the fast driving? I had no idea that it was make you nervous," her impish grin said enough for her.

"Here is a question," she looked over at me still going an unrealistic speed.

"Why did you stay at home? Why didn't you go if you had the dress picked out already," she didn't answer immediately and I feared that I had pushed too far.

"I didn't want to leave you alone at the house with Jasper," she said smiling contently.

"But we saw Esme and Carlisle when we left didn't we," I said still slightly confused.

"They has just gotten back from a hunt and they were planning on just staying in their room doing-," I quickly cut her off.

"I don't need to know!" I calmed down slightly. "Are you telling me that Jasper is attracted to me?"

"He doesn't really care about gender. He just wants to find love in whatever way he can."

A week ago I would have snorted at that and wouldn't have believed that a vampire was capable of such things, but now my opinion of them was slowly changing. I saw how Esme had cared for me. How Emmett had, when he wasn't annoying me, tended to every need that Rosalie had.

"I personally don't care, but if he goes after me I will beat his ass," that made her giggle and then the car gradually slowed down.

"We're here," with that announcement I looked at the area that had been converted into a casino lookalike.

"This is just weird to look at," I said looking at the photographer.

"I know what you mean but it is just how they have fun," she said getting behind me to push on my shoulders.

"Easy there kitten, you don't want to have to jump do ya," I teased her as I walked around the photographer.

"Just because you have a little under a foot on me doesn't let you mock me," she gave me a little harder shove from behind.

I winced but continued walking until I felt something off. It was like a familiar presence that I had forgotten about. I decided to investigate but not let the kitten know.

"Hey shorty, I am going to be walking around for a bit. Why don't you go find the two lovebirds," I said chuckling as she took off to the dance/casino floor.

Schooling my face into its normal deadpan, I began to stroll around the building that had bright lights flashing from it. The feeling grew as I was walking towards the back of the hall. I began to hope that it wasn't just me being paranoid and that I would actually find the thing that was making me so edgy. I probably looked very odd to an outsider: with my sling, the suit without a tie, a deadpan face, and a bald head.

Finally I saw someone that wasn't a horny teen sneaking away from the party, it was a girl with apparent Native American blood. She looked seventeen and had long, glossy black hair pulled back to the nape of her neck. Her skin was really beautiful, like coppery silk, her dark eyes were wide—set above her high cheekbones, and her lips were curved like a bow. She wasn't wearing a dress or anything feminine. She had a suit that was similar to the one I was wearing.

"Hey," I called out when I was close.

She looked over at me with a slightly frightened glance. I tried to calm her the best way I knew how.

"I'm not going to hurt you or tell anybody. I just went for a walk and I saw you sitting here all alone," she visibly relaxed at my words and then she opened her mouth.

"I was here to see Bella," her soft, velvety voice had a smooth tone that has extremely melodic.

"A small world indeed," at her strange look I elaborated. "I was with Bella when she got injured and I tried to help."

"It that how you were, you know," she was gesturing gingerly to my sling.

"Hehehe, yeah I got a little careless," I gestured for permission to sit on the wall.

After getting the nod of approval, I sat about a meter away from her. I released a sigh of relief and set my arm on my lap. Even after nearly three weeks of healing, I easily got tired.

"So how do you know Isabella," I asked trying to make conversation.

"When she was like seven, she visited La Push and we made quick friends because our dads were fishing buddies. I had been teased because I was to boorish and none of my older sisters wanted to play with me," she brought her hair in front of her face and began to play with the ends.

I scooted over and put my hand on her shoulder to bring her out of her funk. We started to chat about happier things like the fact that she loves fixing up dirt bikes. I explained to her that I was looking for some scrap steel for a project that need to get done in around a year. She had introduced herself by smacking her forehead and saying that she had forgotten to tell me her name and vise versa. I told her it was Duel and she gave me her name Julie Black.

After about thirty minutes, we both agreed to keep in touch via the Swan girl. As she left, I felt a chill run down my spine. I looked at Julie's retreating figure and I heard the voice that had haunted me when I was in the hospital,

 **"Min Ulv."**

I waited to see if the bone chilling voice sounded again but it didn't. I was nervous and apprehensive because I felt that the future was going to be dangerous. Not only for me but also for the people around me. I shrugged off the bad feeling and walked slowly back to the hall where I could practically see the kitten's glare, for not being around, all ready.

 **A CHAPTER WRAPPED UP AND I AM GOING INSANE. I AM GETTING PEOPLE FAVORITING AND FOLLOWING THIS STORY BUT NO REVIEWS. I NEED REVIEWS TO SEE WHAT ASPECTS OF THE STORY PEOPLE WANT EXPLAINED MORE OR DIDN'T LIKE OR WHATEVER REASON. I HAVE DECIDED TO USE THE MOVIE HEIGHT OF 5 FT 5 IN FOR ALICE. I KNOW THAT THE PAIRING LISTING IS SET AS OC x ALICE x JULIE. I WILL TRY TO MAKE THIS WORK IF I CAN'T I WILL NOT FORCE IT. IF YOU PICKED UP ON THE FACT THAT I GAVE THE CULLENS HOBBIES THAT WILL BE EXPLORED MORE LATER. SO UNTIL NEXT TIME. READ. REVIEW. AND ENJOY.**

 **Translations**

 **My wolf: Min Ulv**

 **Ghost Operation Systems signing out.**


	6. Forgiveness

**AND I'M BACK! I AM ABOUT TO DO SOME TESTING BUT I HAVE PLANNED OUT TO CHAPTER 16 AND WROTE SOME LORE. I HOPE YOU ENJOY THIS CHAPTER BECAUSE IT IS THE BEGINNING OF MANY MANY THINGS. LEAVE A REVIEW IF YOU CAN FIGURE ALL OF THEM OUT. I DON'T OWN THE TWILIGHT FRANCHISE IT BELONGS TO STEPHANIE MEYERS. READ AND ENJOY.**

Chapter 6: Forgiveness 

Duel POV 

I had been right about the glare and her anger. If I hadn't been injured, I think that I would have been beaten black and blue. When we got back to the house after five minutes of intense silence, I was left in the car and the angry kitten was trudging through the front door and up the stairs to her room.

"What did you do man? She hasn't been this angry since I dyed her clothes bright pink," Emmett asked as I guided myself to the couch and laid back.

"I stood her up at the dance. I followed my instincts and they lead me away from the hall," I answered kicking off my boots.

"Dude, the hell is wrong with your feet to make that smell. Also she will forgive you if you do something she wants," he said as he stopped his breathing.

Just great! I had to bend my pride and earn the forgiveness of the kitten; who, at the moment, want to break a few of my bones. I quickly ran through the things that I knew about her in my head to see if I could find anything that would help. The only thing that kept popping into my head was fashion and clothes.

This was not a good thing to pop into my head because I, as Alice had put it, was a fashion-less bull. I had no experience shopping for clothes except for the barest minimum essentials. I knew probably one thing that could cheer her up but I would not be able to do it without help. There was only one person I could turn to for help, and I was going to have to control my temper around her.

"Hey Emmett," I called out to him.

"Yeah man, what do you need now?"

"I have figured out how to make it up to the kitten," his grin faltered for a second but remained strong.

"Ok, what do you got," he glanced momentarily up the stairs.

Understanding his gaze, I motioned for him to follow me into the garage. He grabbed the keys to his Jeep and we got into the macho vehicle. I decided to keep my comments about overcompensation to myself and just asked him to do something crazy.

"Emmett, how good are you at driving with your eyes closed."

"I probably only know a few places that I could good with my eyes shut."

Seeing my nod of go-ahead, we set off to discuss my plan on getting the kitten to forgive me for standing her up.

Alice POV

I was angry at him. Yes, angry just that. Not furious or bloodthirsty, but I was angry that he asked me to the dance and then left me to meet up with another girl.

He may not have told me about the girl, but I could smell something on him that wasn't natural. It was the smell of a dog, machine grease, and an earthy scent. Maybe she worked with cars, owned a dog, and enjoyed being outside. My overactive mind was thinking of the fact that he would regain his poor opinions of vampires if he began to like this girl.

Creeping out of my room and staying out of the sight of Duel, I listened in on the conversation. Emmett was trying to give him advice on how to make it up to me. It warmed my body to think that he valued me enough to want to make it up.

"Ok, I got it," Duel's baritone announced after a few minutes.

"He better make it up," I muttered trying not to be detected.

I was unsuccessful because Emmett saw me and then Duel and him left the house in the Jeep. I was unhappy that I didn't know what he was planning and whenever I tried to see where they were going and what they were talking about, it was clouded and muffled.

"He will probably want to sleep when he gets back so don't bother him," Esme said as she stood beside me.

I had been concentrating so hard of Duel that I had missed her entirely. She was wearing a light blouse and a knee length skirt.

"I don't want to bother him," I said a little too quickly.

"Sure, and I don't need blood every week or so," she said clearly not believing me.

"So how are you feeling," she asked putting a hand on my shoulder.

"I'm so confused. I am angry at him for leaving me alone, but I can't bring myself to hold a grudge over what he did. I am nervous about the girl that he met with at the dance," I explained.

She brought me into comforting hug that made me feel a little better, but I was still pondering my thoughts and emotions. I had never felt this way about anyone and it confused me. Was my inner hunter influencing my emotions so that I could get close to him and drink him dry?

"So when did you gain these confusing thoughts," Esme asked as she brought me to arms length.

"Why are you asking?"

"So that I can help you better. Explain from the beginning," she led me to my open door and set me down on the bed that I never used.

"Well, when we first met I disliked him because he gave me the butch nickname. He was so rude and he was my singer on top of that, so yeah not a good beginning," I paused to gauge her reaction, she only had a motherly look on her face.

Nodding for me to continue, I did. "When we brought him here, Jasper talked me down from arguing. When we all split up to try and protect Bella, I was focusing so much on Bella's safety that I didn't really notice him. When Bella did that stupid thing and kidnapped Duel to save her mother, I was scared for both of them, and when I saw what he had become I was horrified that he was even alive after all that." I felt my body begin to tremble as I thought back nearly three weeks.

"It is ok, just calm down and relax," she brought me into a hug as she patted my back.

After a minute of silence, I nodded my head in thanks and set to to explaining the rest of my feelings. I said how I was worried about him when he was in the hospital, but I had Bella to comfort and all.

"And then when he teased me as you were bringing him to the couch, I lost it and I felt myself nearly lose it completely and try to devour him. After hunting and a talk with Carlisle, I understood why he had to stay with us. So when I talked to him later that night at the urging of Jasper, I found that he was helpless and hopeless. Do you know the first thing he said to me was, 'So are you here to finish me off.' I was so confused." Looking at her face I saw that she was currently shocked as well.

"I didn't know that he had felt that bad," her frown showed how sad she really was.

My statement seemed to shake her considerably, and I was about to ask her if she wanted me to continue.

"I'm fine. It just, it is hard to take in the fact that he didn't care if he lived or died."

Nodding in agreement I continued my story which luckily got much better,

"So let me get this straight. You would go down and wake him up to talk and hopefully resolve your issues but not before watching him sleep for an undisclosed time," Esme deadpanned at me.

"When you put it like that I feel like I was doing something wrong," I said feeling sheepish.

"Well most of the nights he was probably not even awake," Esme said trying not to laugh.

"Actually he had some heated words about some topics. I doubt he remembers through," I pouted seeing her smile that was breaking out.

"Oh I bet, did you ask him his relationship status yet," I want to crawl into a hole and never leave it.

"I just want to know what he is planning," and with that seem left my room.

Duel POV

The conversation was a success with Emmett saying that he would help. He then confessed that it was mainly for his own amusement and together we would either get our asses kicked or smooched.

"So can you get her to agree," I asked again as we nearly got home.

"Yeah I can convince my little Rose. It may take some extra _exercise_ but I will do it," he gave me a cheshire grin that made me nauseous.

I groaned and tuned him out. He was constantly bringing up his sex life, as if to make me jealous. It would have worked if not for the fact that I was plotting on how to get my hand back. After I regained Alice's friendship again, of course.

"So when can I expect her to bring me the supplies that I need," I asked ready to go to bed.

It was nearly one in the morning and I was exhausted. I had so many plans and I only had so much time to implement them. The gift for Alice would be the next thing I did, after that I will find a way to get my hand's functions back, and lastly I needed to replace my weapons.

Thinking to my axes, I felt slightly depressed. The Burning Battle Axe was completely destroyed with not even any shrapnel being recovered. The hatchet was ready to fall apart and I needed to rework it entirely.

"She should be getting her part done by the end of the day tomorrow," he said sensing my bad mood.

We arrived and pulled into the garage with no further conversation. The gift would hopefully help the progression of our friendship. I dragged my feet to the couch before carefully pulling the blanket up and falling asleep.

 _§Dream§_

 _Running. That was what I was doing. Whether it was to something or away from something I didn't know, I was just running. I stopped, panting and looked down at my hands. One was metallic and I couldn't feel it at all. I flexed the muscles in my forearm and I was rewarded with the clenching of my metal fingers._

 _Suddenly I was not in the clearing that I had been before. I was sitting on a throne of carved stone surrounded by flames. On my right was a huge wolf that was currently curled up at my feet. On my left was a hovering thing. Upon closer inspection it was a dark haired pixie that had only a vibrant blue dress on._

 _"I think you should take a sleep milord," the soft voice of the pixie said in my ear._

 _"I can help you relax from your hard duties," she purred in my ear._

 _"Don't be fooled!" The wolf shouted._

 _"The pixie only wants you for your power," the gruff voice had a soft feminine tone in it._

 _"I will be loyal forever to you," the massive she-wolf stood and growled at the pixie that was sitting on my shoulder._

 _The pixie started to shimmer and then it started to attack the wolf. I could only sit and watch the two forces of nature battle each other. I looked down at my hands and watched as they began to crumble,_

 _"Halt your bickering," I yelled in a voice that was not entirely mine._

 _"Milord," They both said bowing low in front of me._

 _"I have grown tired of your constant fighting," I said even though this was the first time I had seen these two._

 _"You are both dismissed," suddenly my vision faded._

 _§Dream End§_

I opened my eyes to see that Esme had woken me up to give me some food and water. I was grateful for the food, but I wanted to see were my Dream was going to head. Sitting up fully, I grabbed the plate of fruit and began to eat.

"So how is your plan going to factor in the fact that you only have one hand," she said suddenly.

I coughed slightly because I had just swallowed a piece of apple, "What!?"

"You know. Your plan to get the friendship of Alice back," her smile was warm and motherly.

"If I tell you, can Alice see this?" I asked being extremely cautious.

"No, she explained to me last night that everything around you is clouded and she can see those close to you," Esme revealed.

"Good because here is the plan," and I began to explain it to her.

Her face was filled with understanding. I knew that I had her support in what I was going to do. It may have sounded like a bad idea initially, but as it was explained further it made the pros outweigh the cons.

"-then my hand will be mostly operational." I finished up.

"Do you need any help with this?"

"Actually yes, I already the bitchy blonde distracting the kitten," seeing Esme's look at the nickname I had given to Rosalie I continued.

"I need someone to play defense if she ends up losing it," Esme nodded but looked slightly off.

"I just hope this doesn't blow up in your face," I shrugged as best I could but I felt that I had reassured her.

I finished my plate and drank the glass of orange juice. I thanked Esme for this and stood up to start getting things ready for the event that was going to hopefully take place later today.

"Hey ugly human," a beautiful voice called out to me.

"What do you want," I said turning to see a person with so much beauty but inner hatred.

"I have talked with Emmett and I have agreed to help you this once. Just let me tell you this, if you ever hurt her like this again I will rip you limb form limb," with that she huffed and turned to walk away.

Not one that liked to be threatened I spoke to her back, "I believe James said something like that as well."

She paused but continued walking until she left the house. I was uneasy because she truly could kill me with ease the way I am now. I headed out to the garage and found something that I had been thinking about for a long time.

My Burning Hatchet was laying on a bench untouched from the time that I left it there three weeks ago. It had cracks going through the head of the blade with an empty canister in the eye portion of the handle.

"Don't worry," I whispered to it.

"You will be fixed and then you can destroy all the things you want," I said grinning.

Grabbing the handle that was wrapped in leather cord, I lifted the seven pound weapon and felt comforted by its weight. I had built this axe from hand and had only minimal help.

"Everyone is out because of the parted clouds," Esme said as she was putting running shoes on.

"Well, I can start the project and hope that Rosalie will keep her promise in stalling her," I said as Esme left the house.

Hefting the axe onto my shoulder, I walked into the house and began to make a gift of forgiveness. It was going to be difficult with only one hand but I would somehow make this knotted bracelet.

I started by unwrapping the leather cord from around the handle and after I finished I had about three meters of material. I washed the sweat from hand by placing a pot on the stove and boiling the cord in it. Only the cord was nice and waterlogged, I pulled the steaming leather and felt it scold my hand slightly but continued anyway.

Next, I began by cutting the length of cord in two. Once I did that, I began to tied and weave the desired pattern and when I ran out of leather, about an three hours later, I place my now grip less axe on top of the bracelet. I grabbed a sharp knife from the kitchen, and pressed it to the tips of my fingers.

As the blood flowed out I collected it in a small pot about the size of my fist and turned the stove on low. The pot had about a pint or so of my blood when I stopped and put a cloth around my fingers. The blood was bubbling and smelling like iron when I lifted the axe off the completed bracelet and then placed in into the bubbling pot of blood. Put a lid on the pot, I left it to absorb and soak in the blood.

Opening all of the windows, even the really difficult ones that made my ribs aches, I began to vent the smell. Glancing at the clock, I saw that it was two in the afternoon, and I was surprised that the time had gone by so quickly. It had been around 9 o'clock when Esme had left the house.

"Well, that is finished. Hopefully they don't kill me because of any lingering smell," I said to myself.

"I mean, my blood could send all of them into a rage and they tear each other part to get to me," I shivered slightly at that disturbing thought.

With all the fans going at full blast (damn the electricity bills) and the windows open, I pulled the lid off of the pot and was rewarded with a nearly black stained leather bracelet that was ready. It was already molded to the shape of a wrist and the blood and water treatment had stiffened the material to the point where I had to stain to bend it.

"I wonder if they are going to be coming back before dark," I pondered out loud.

Not really know what to do, I put some bandages, that had been set off to the side of my couch, on my fingers. The bleeding luckily had stopped and the clean slices into my hand were tightly bound. I picked up the cooled pot up and was thinking of how to dispose of it. I slowly walked to the garage door, as to avoid a lot of steps, and walked through the mostly empty area to leave the house.

"It is nice not to be cooped up in that house anymore," I said taking a deep breathe through my nose.

My ribs expanded and ached but didn't feel like they were trying to stab me. I walked only just a few meters into the woods before I had to sit down on a fallen tree. I looked up at the treetops with the sun shining through the foliage. I felt peaceful and slightly tired but I couldn't go to sleep because one, I was outside and two, the small pot of my blood was setting next to me. Finding a hole in the ground most likely dug by an animal, I poured the contents of the pot into the hole. It was only about a cup of stale dark blood that filled the hole. I covered the hole with dirt before I pulled my pants down enough for me to pee on the dirt pile. The pot I put in a creek that I found about five minutes from the house and left it there.

Walking back to the house, I saw a dust cloud heading to the house. I only knew one thing that could mean, the Cullen's were coming back. I rushed trying not to trip and arrived right as the two cars pulled into the garage.

"What are you doing walking around in the woods," the kitten asked as she stood arms crossed in the doorway.

"I was taking a pleasant walk and I cut myself on a rock so I bandaged myself up," I said trying to get by her.

She moved out of my way and I saw Esme and Rosalie glance at me with a look asking if I finished. Nodding back at them, I called out to the kitten,

"Hey shorty come here for a moment," I yelled.

She appeared a second later with Emmett right behind her. He was smirking and I gave him a glare,

"What do you want," she said with her arms still crossed.

"I want you to know that I am sorry for leaving you alone at the dance," her arms loosened ever so slightly.

"Here, I made this for you," and with that I tossed her the leather bracelet.

She caught it without even looking, her eyes turned black and I knew she could smell my blood staining the material. She started to tremble lightly, and I took measured steps towards her despite the warning looks I got from Esme, Emmett, and Rosalie. Grabbing her shaking hand, I curled it around the bracelet and spoke,

"Don't be afraid. I trust you not to lose control from the smell of dead blood."

Her trembling stopped as I continued, "My father taught me how to do this at the urging of my mother because she knew that I took after the both of them. In order to earn your forgiveness i have paid in blood."

All the current occupants of the room were frozen at my explanation, I had never talked about my parents or anything personal at all. Giving this piece of my past was difficult but necessary to show my remorse. I brought her into a one armed hug and I slowly drew a circle on her back.

She was extremely tense and took a very long ten seconds to relax and hesitantly bring her arms around me. She held me tight and she buried her face into my sore chest and breathed deeply through her nose.

"Well I didn't expect this when I returned," Carlisle said as he walked into the room.

We quickly released the intimate hug and backed away from each other. I blushed and turned my back to Alice as I walked out of the room to leave the situation behind me. I thought back to the hug and how nice it felt when her arms were around me. I felt the spark of something as I headed to my couch to begin the plans for my prosthetic limb.

 **AND THAT IS A WRAP. I HAVE ONLY GOT A FEW REVIEWS PLEASE GIVE ME MORE SO THAT I CAN EVOLVE AS A WRITER AND A PERSON A TOGETHER. THE STORY WILL BE A LITTLE MORE FAST PACE FROM NOW ON. I HOPE THAT YOU READ AND REVIEW, HAVE FUN AND PM ME WITH ANY QUESTIONS.**

 **Ghost Operation System signing out.**


	7. The Operation

**HELLO ALL. I'M BACK AND READY WITH CHAPTER SEVEN. I WROTE THIS ENTIRE CHAPTER WHILE LISTENING TO AC/DC. I DON'T OWN THE TWILIGHT FRANCHISE IT BELONGS TO STEPHANIE MEYERS.**

Chapter 7: The Operation

Alice POV

After Duel left the room, I blurred up to my room and slammed the door. I was panting even though I didn't even need to breathe. Looking at the dark bracelet that was clutched in my hand, I was amazed by the intricate design. There were seven or eight different layers that woven in a stunning knot. I smelled his blood coating the leather and it was intoxicating.

Even though the blood was dried and mainly just for pigmentation, I told a deep breathe through my nose and my body shivered. It didn't matter how long the bracelet was exposed, I would probably forever smell his blood. It was annoying but the importance of his gift mattered to me. Not only had he told us a little piece of his past, but he also felt remorseful.

Knock Knock Knock*

"Are you going to fantasize about your six and a half foot human or talk about your visions," Edward mocked reading my thoughts.

"I thought I told you not to read my thoughts," I yelled at him as I opened the door.

"I don't even have to try. Could you put that away it reeks," he said gesturing towards the bracelet in my hand.

"No, I will wear it as a way to desensitize myself to his blood," I said trying not to think of the real reason.

"You fear that he will think that you rejected his peace offering and it will end your friendship," he said in a bored manner.

Having my reason thrown out in the open so blatantly, I felt the urge to pummel him until I was happy again. We talked about any visions I'd had about Victoria, which was none, after about ten minutes of chatting we got to a difficult topic, our love lives.

"So is there something that attracts you to him," Edward bluntly asked.

If I could blush I would be, "He is blunt, fashion-less, and a rough person. Despite that he is kind and understanding. He will do anything to protect someone."

"Those are good qualities but you still can't see him can you," I shook my head.

"It is concerning because we don't know what he could do. And we have seen him lose control."

"I know this, but just like with Bella I can't stop myself from wanting to get closer to him. If you listen to your instinct you would have killed Bella and made it look like an accident," he gave me a horrified look when I mentioned Bella's death.

He ended that conversation and we moved onto how I was feeling about summer vacation and I, in turn, asked what he was going to do with Bella this summer. He gave me typical couple things and I found myself slightly nervous about when I would confess.

Not if, when, I was definitely going to do it before school started and then I would get some time to enjoy with him. He better get ready because I was going to make him mine.

Duel POV

I felt a spine shivering sensation run down my spine as I focused back on my current dilemma. Trying to convince Carlisle to implant six metal tubes in my stump of a hand.

"I have done to math and it could theoretically work," I said showing him the basic design of what I was going to do.

"Yes, I admit it could work. But the problem is the fact that your tendons would be exposed," he reasoned looking at the blueprints.

"Yes but I have figured out how to fix that issue," I said waiting for the go ahead.

See the nod, I explained my theory, "If I plug the tubes and attach the tendons to one end of the cylinder and the wire at the other end, the tendon will be completed covered by my body. And the wires that come out will be able to attach and detain from the hand so that if the prosthetic is damaged I can take it off and replace or repair it."

Carlisle nodded deep in thought and finally he pointed something that I hadn't explained yet, "What about the large sixth port tube in the middle of the area?"

See what he was meaning I explained the largest of the ports in the diagram, "That is the coupling joint that would keep the hand from flopping and damaging he tendons more."

"Where did you even get the idea for this," he asked.

"I got it from a dream," I said slightly embarrassed about my source of inspiration.

"Well where ever you got the idea it is crazy. I would need a month to not only get the supplies but also to do the research needed. And don't even get me started on the recovery that you need to do before I could even operate on you," he said sighing and shaking his head.

I gave him a minute to compose his thoughts and after that he agreed to do the surgery on my arm. I joked that while he was in the area could he put in some reinforcements. We got a laugh but I could see that he was considering it. I was apprehensive because it about a month I would undergo that surgery one way or another.

"Well, I want my sleep," I said taking the plans from his grasp.

"Before you do that, would you mind letting me do a check up on you," he asked in his doctor tone.

"I don't mind but can I lay down for it," I requested.

He said that it was fine and then I laid back to let the doctor do his business. He started at my left arm by unwrapping the bandages and revealing the scared flesh beneath. It was a knot of pink, lumpy skin that was scarred to about my mid-forearm. It was fully closed and I knew that to attach the hand Carlisle would have to break the newly healed flesh.

"Now that it is fully healed, I don't think that you will need the bandages. But I need to warn you that the new skin will be incredibly sensitive to heat and cold."

He then began to go to my head and he opened my eye fully to shine a light in it. Blinking rapidly after he turned the light off, I waited for his diagnosis.

"It is incredible. Your eyes are dilating normally. By this time you should be only halfway recovered, I will have to get you an MRI to make sure there is no lasting damage," Carlisle seemed to be in shock from my rate of recovery.

"Doc, my bones are still broken now can I go to sleep," I said indignantly.

"I wouldn't be so sure, your rate of recovery is abnormal."

Great now I'm a freak of nature, anything else you what to say, I snarked in my head. Noticing my discomfort, he stopped his rant of my 'special' healing factor. I was given a new set of instructions. Tomorrow I would be given an MRI, and when he knew my condition better, I would start rehab for my broken bones and self-amputated limb.

"Just don't do anything stupid by tomorrow morning," He cautioned before he left me alone.

"Jeez man," Emmett said, "you are something else entirely."

"How so," I asked raising one of my regrown eyebrows.

"When you pulled that move with the bloody bracelet, then hugging her and whispering sweet nothings I was practically taking notes," he said grinning wide.

Blushing I refused to give in, "Just because I comforted her in a time of her weakness and she didn't eat me doesn't mean I'm smooth."

"Yeah, and I'm currently not banging a beautiful badass," he joked bringing up his sex life again.

"What is it with you constantly bringing up your sex life, have to hype it up so it doesn't seem so disappointing."

"Woah, I didn't expect for the claws to come out this early," I replied by flipping him off and putting a pillow over my head.

I heard him walk off in his usual heavy footsteps, well heavy for a vampire. I pulled the pillow from my face and set it under my head to fall asleep. I was woken up by a jab to my forehead as the kitten got me up for our nightly routine.

"Come on get up, I don't want to talk to a sleeping person," she complain making me raise my head.

"I think the real reason is that all the other occupants of this house have listened to you so much they can ignore you so you moved onto a new victim," I said trying to get the sleep out of my system.

"That is sooo not true," she said before she sat next to me on the couch.

I noticed the bracelet standing out against her white skin and smiled lightly. It matched her just perfectly with a little looseness that allowed it to move along her smooth skin. Shaking my head to clear the thoughts of attraction, I found myself in a hell.

"What do you mean blue isn't my color," Alice asked angry.

"I was thinking of some plans to get my body back in shape," I said trying to get myself out but it only made things worse.

"Oh so I'm not even important enough to listen to," she accused me.

Sighing and feeling the headache coming on I prepared to make my last stand.

"No you are the most beautiful person to listen to and I could never ignore you," I said while waiting for an angry reply.

"T-T-Thank you," she stuttered out before leaving and running up to her room.

I didn't fully understand what happened, but from my own conflicting feelings, I could draw many inferences. I liked Alice, she was cute kind and helped me through difficult times. She was fun to tease and I felt myself being drawn to her. That was a scary thought. I punched the pillow lightly and put it under my head to fall asleep.

 _~Time Skip~_

The past three week were mind numbingly boring. It was pretty much the same routine every single day with few interesting things. Edward was out most of the time taking Isabella on outings and being a completely romantic sap.

Emmett and Rosalie where as open as ever with their relationship, constantly cuddling and kissing in public areas. Jasper, the weirdo, was as strange as even. He would randomly just pick me up and take me to his room to see his paintings. He was actually great at drawing portraits and landscapes, but he sucked at drawing with pencils.

Carlisle had revealed that my recovery was ahead of what he had assumed with my broken bones completely healed in a month and a half. He said that the supplies were easier to get a hold of and we could have the surgery a early as a day from today.

Probably the only thing that kept me sane during this time was the nightly talk that Alice and I kept having. She would talk about pretty much the same fashion, clothes, and Edward's relationship. She seemed to be on edge about something because she would sometimes open her mouth then close it again saying nothing.

"So why would I want to wear Asian silk clothes," I asked.

"Because you Neanderthal, it feels incredible against your skin," she said with her nose in the air.

"I just don't trust something that is so expensive," I reasoned with her.

"You prefer leather shirts and linen pants. You have no room to speak."

"Just because I have more simple tastes doesn't mean that I am not fashionable," I said countering her.

"Yes you are very fashionable," she muttered something under her breathe that sound suspiciously like barbarian.

I ignored her jabs at my choices in clothing. She first tried to get me into denim clothes, when that didn't work she moved to cotton, I hated those the most, and now she was trying to get me addicted to silk clothing. She was not convincing me at all.

"All right, I think that is enough," Carlisle interrupted.

"Duel here will need his rest for the surgery on Wednesday."

"Fine but I will convert him to the Way of Silk," with that she bid me pleasant dreams.

"She has been extremely scared and nervous about this. She has pushed herself to the brink to see the outcome," Carlisle said his eyes downcast.

"Did she see anything," I found myself asking.

"She saw you laying on the operating table and even that was very difficult and clouded."

"Well, I know that I at least get to the room," I laughed trying to break the tension.

It worked because Carlisle wished me a good sleep and left me alone. I wasn't going to be going to sleep tonight I had plans. Isabella, she hated it when I called her that, had gotten me a simple flip phone to talk to her, the Cullens, and whoever was in my social circle. As it turned out, I only had a few contacts: Esme, Alice, Carlisle, Isabella, and the most surprising Julie. She had given her number to Isabella and instructed her to get it to, in her words, the injured weirdo.

I thumbed through the short list until her name was lighting up my screen. I sent her a quick text,

[D: Hey you up]

After a few minutes she replied,

[J: Yeah I was just finishing up the engine on the dirt bike]

I silently laughed at this because she had been working on that engine since we had been talking.

[D: One of these days it will get finished right XD]

[J: Just for that one I will run you over when I am finished :(]

[D: I have surgery in a few days wish me luck]

She didn't response for a minute before my phone began ringing. Looking at the number displayed, I saw that it was Julie's.

Opening the phone, the voice was immediate. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN SURGERY? Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"Well after all that yelling, I don't feel very forthcoming," I joked before getting serious.

"If I did tell you, what would come of it? You being stressed and constantly worrying," I said trying to soothe her.

"Ok you are right but still I thought we were closer than that," she sounded timid.

"We are close I'll admit, but this was a little too personal," I said trying not to hurt her feelings.

"Ok fine but after, I'm taking you to La Push Beach," she giggled before hanging up without waiting for my answer.

"Ok, fuck my opinion as usual."

I rested my eyes for what seemed only five or so minutes, but I opened them at the smell of burning food. I opened my eyes and raised myself off the couch in one motion. I saw black smoke billowing out of the kitchen and a panicked Edward rush out.

"So why is he trying to set the house on fire," I asked Alice who had come down to see the chaos.

"Bella wanted to send the morning with us, and Edward tried to make her a breakfast that was edible," she giggled and I felt my stomach roll.

"I need to get in there and slay whatever monstrosity he created," I said rushing to the war zone.

It was as bad as I had imagined. The toast was charcoal, the pan, with what I hoped was eggs in it, was scorched to the point of having to get rid of the pan all together. Luckily Esme had sent aside the coffee machine so that it wasn't another causality in Edward's path.

"Next time let the professionals do the cooking," I said turning to set Edward opening all the windows and Isabella coughing.

"And Isabella, next time don't ask a person who hasn't eaten in around a century to cook," I got a slight glare at the use of her full name.

"He insisted," she protested.

"And if the devil insisted on taking your soul would you had it over."

"Well if he was as good looking as Alice I would," When she said that I gave her a look of terror until I saw she was joking.

"It is Tuesday and Carlisle wants me to stop eating twelve hours before I go it at eleven-ish tonight,"I said losing some of my luster.

I knew the chances and dangers of my surgery. They had to drill into my stump and put titanium tubes and wires into my arm. I had already made the prototype hand that connects with all the uplinks and moves ok. It was extremely basic, with an exterior wire that hooked up to the skeleton-like fingers.

"Don't worry, you have the best doctor in the world operating on you," Esme reassured me and hugged me.

"Mother hen, just because I have gotten used to the physical contact doesn't mean I enjoy it," I complained trying to wriggle out of her strong grasp.

"Your will is strong never lose sight of that," she whispered in my ear before letting me go.

I rubbed my shoulder and nodded dumbfounded at her advice. She was just as I had described her, a mother hen. I grabbed the mug of coffee that was offered and walked to the couch area. It was just the way I liked it black as sin and bitter as hell.

"So what are the plans for today," I asked Alice who was sitting on my couch.

"Well, Edward is going to be watching a movie at Bella's and having to deal with her dad," she giggled at that one.

I laughed as well because I had met Chief Swan and he was an interesting guy. He was overly protective of his daughter and he was very good friends with both the Cullen's and the Quileute, whom I had noticed didn't like each other very much and nobody would tell me why. He enjoyed his steaks and burgers which was how I met him.

I introduced myself when Isabella took me out to a diner to keep me from going insane just laying around the house. He had been a little weary at first because of my strange appearance, but when he learned that I was there when his daughter was injured and was injured myself trying to help, he warmed up to me very quickly. Ten minutes later, we were laughing about an event that happened involving a moose, a beer, and a squad car.

"That will be entertaining, could you narrator," this was another fun thing that I had discovered, Alice could narrate her visions sometimes.

"Maayyybe," She drawled.

"Emmett and Rosalie are going shopping for some new outfits," she said pouting.

"And they didn't invite you," I mocked.

She glared at me and asked something that surprised me. She asked to place her hand on my bare shoulder, it was an intimate action that she justified as an exercise in self-control for when I returned smelling like blood.

"Just don't fall in love," I halfheartedly teased.

She gained a gleam in her eyes before slide her ice cold hands under my shirt. I jumped slightly as her hands explored my chest, and after a few seconds, I adjusted and her small, dainty hands explored my barrel chest.

"If I knew that you were going to give me a massage, I would have broken out the oils," I said after I regained my ability to speak.

"As if," she muttered and took her hands away from my chest.

Sitting up straight, she began her narrative of Edward and Isabella, "Mr. Swan just ask Edward if he were really a vegetarian."

Oh God this was hilarious, I was laughing my ass off and the show was just getting started. He then told me how he responded with he was a pescatarian. I found that funny because Chief Swan had repeatedly asked me to go on fishing trip with him. This was not going to end well for Lover boy, and I was loving every minute of it.

"He was invited to eat some of Clearwater's fry," suddenly all her mirth faded away.

"What is between you guys and the Quileutes," I asked noticing her pause again.

"We have some history together," oh that sounded ominous.

"Well, whatever. Just tell me what you see about the surgery," I asked trying to avoid landmines.

"I see brief flashes but nothing much beyond that," she said looking even more depressed.

"Don't worry, I have lived my life not know the future up to this point so why change my lucky streak now," I tried to cheer her up.

It worked because we went back to monitor Edward's hilarious interacts with his girlfriends father. After a few minutes, we switched to talking about things we wanted to do. Apparently Alice just wanted to find a way to sleep, so that she could waste some hours away. I told her one of my hopes,

"I want to set up a forge and fix my axe."

"You will need two hands for that," she said hitting a weak point.

"I will have two hands after today, whether they both work is up to fate," I said before flexing the muscles in my forearm.

"So what do you want to do," she asked after watching my arm.

"Do you have any musical talents," I asked.

"Not really why?"

"Just thought of something to do," I said pulling her light frame up and to the piano.

"I don't play," she whined wriggling.

"Well too bad, I will teach you."

"You know how to play piano," she looked shocked.

"Hell no, I just know how to read the music," I admitted.

She deadpanned before sitting next to me on the piano, she looked at the keys in front of her as if they were grenades about to go off. I place my hand on hers and lifted it to the keyboard.

"Just listen, I do know one song that followed me through my childhood," I said taking a deep breath before I began a low drone.

 _"Far over the misty mountain range,_

 _the children play, the parents sing,_

 _Let not your children stray for the wicked Dead creep closer,_

 _The mighty Dead pale and cold as snow,_

 _Let not your children stray for the Dead shall not let you rest,"_ I paused to see her reaction, she was in rapturedattention.

 _"Far into the forest deep,_

 _the mighty bear protects its sheep,_

 _watching close he stops the consumers of blood,_

 _he restores all balance, he hunts for his flock_

 _Far into the village, the dead chaining the bear so his flock be devoured,_

 _They shall rise, they will strike_

 _Let not your pride affect your guard_

 _Oh mighty cold, Oh mighty dead,_ " I finished with the same drone that I had started with.

clap clap clap*

"Wow! You are great," she cheered as she clung to my side.

"I'm not really I just have a natural baritone," I downplayed my singing abilities because I had heard it much better.

"I agree with her," Esme said walking to the room.

"You have a sense of rhythm and a smooth voice that is amazing," she complimented.

Blushing, I accepted their praise and went back to trying to get the kitten to play the piano. It was a fruitless endeavor because Esme feed me the last meal I would have for a long time. It was a pan fried fish with some potato hash on the side. I loved every second of it but then I was filled with the realization that I was another step closer to surgery.

I wasn't scared of the surgery, I was just worried that it wouldn't be a success. I would have to think of an alternative fighting style. I could no longer use my overhead strikes.

"So have you made any friends," Esme asked.

"Yeah I'm great friends with the local wildlife," I joked.

"I heard that you were great friends with Bella's father," she stated intrigued.

"More like a story sharing relationship," I clarified.

I stood up and took my plate to the sink to be rinsed. I noticed that Carlisle was in the kitchen trying to vent the near toxic air. He was usually at work already and it was strange to see him.

"So were you elected to deal with the mess," I asked washing the plate.

"Yeah, I am preparing for tonight. I have never done anything like this before," he admitted to me.

"Well shit."

"Yeah, I am nervous but I will be the only one operating on you," he said mostly to himself.

"So you should be able to finish a lot faster," I suggested.

"No, you never rush a surgery especially when you don't fully know what you are doing."

I left the kitchen only to be ambushed and taken to Jasper's room/art studio. He had been working on a series of paintings that focused on a wasteland. Broken buildings, desert landscapes, and destruction were the primary nature of the painting.

"You know for a person who can sense emotions you paint some fucked up stuff," i said looking at the well lit room.

"Yes, but it helps me vent my frustrations," he said blankly.

We traded ideas for better things to paint and I suggested the battlefield of England versus the Barbadian hordes. He seemed to like the idea but it made him uncomfortable that he had to something about war.

"Why don't you just draw some happy things," I said smugly.

"And why don't you give me an applause," he fired back.

"Oh, it is on," And we descended into trading insults and backhanded compliments.

How we sent several hours doing this, I still don't know but it was fun. I had said something that had Jasper laughing loudly when something struck me.

"Hey dickhead, why don't you have problems around me."

He stopped laughing and looked at me like I was an alien before he sighed and gave me a reason, "At first I was attracted to your blood, but then my old instincts from my army days told me to be scared of you."

That was not the reason I was expecting, I had triggered his old instincts that told him I was something to be frightened of. He laughed and hit my shoulder to try and rid the room of tension but it didn't work. I left his room about five minutes later to clean my body with a special solution.

It smelled like bad oil and was just as thick. Before applying it, I made sure to read the label. Don't get in your eyes, open wounds, or on your balls. Ok, I was ready to be scrubbed raw by the hand scrubber. The blistering hot water felt amazing against my skin and my stress melted away.

I couldn't help but release a sound of pleasure from the water. I got out the bottle of solution and began the long process of soaping my body. The bubbles were pink and made my skin burn slightly. I rubbed the skin that I knew was the most likely to dirty but I was in the shower for about fifteen minutes anyway.

"What took you so long," Emmett said as he glanced over at me.

"I had to clean of the sweat I make during the day, not something you would understand," I snarked sitting next to him and taking one of the controllers.

"Easy Killer, I was just curious, also you do know that you need two hands to use that controller," he looked at me from his racing game.

"As long as I just keep a fast pace throughout the game I will be fine," I said getting ready.

My hand blurred across the controls as we raced. It was a fun game with traps and sabotages that you could buy. I was currently in control of a 1968 Chevy SS Camaro with a mounted rocket board on the roof.

"And die," I yelled as I shoot two rockets at his tank of a truck.

"Don't think so!" He deplored mines, the hacker dick.

I swerved to avoid his weapons and I then hit my nitro to pass him on the final stretch on road. I won the race, that brought my total to ten wins and twenty-five losses. It took me a few times to get into a comfortable playing style.

"So I am done and ready to go to the hospital," I said putting my controller down.

"Fine, Carlisle," he yelled as a blur entered the room.

"Ok, I am ready. I will just tell the other I case they want to give any last minute advice," he said all dressed in his doctor coat and keys already in hand.

"Just don't bleed too much," the less sharp tongued Rosalie said.

"I know you will come back, so no worrying," Esme said even though her hands were clenching and relaxing.

"Heal fast because I want to school you again,"Emmett joked giving me a fist bump.

"Bella is still feeling bad about this so recover fast," Edward practically ordered.

Jasper just nodded at me and put his arms behind his back squaring his chest.

Turning to the last person in the room, I saw that Alice had her hands at her sides with clenched fists. Deciding to tease her one last time, I spoke.

"Come on kitten, don't be so emotional. I am going to back before you know it and you can try to convert me to a new clothing," I said but noticed that he eyes were downcast.

"Kitten?"

"I want an answer after you get home," she whispered loud enough for me to hear.

Suddenly I was being pulled down to her level before she kissed me with scorching passion. I watched her eyes flash with embarrassment before she ran into the woods around the house.

I didn't hear anything that was said around me, I was just was stunned. I saw mouths moving but no words were heard. Carlisle led me to the his car before I was even able to hear anything again.

It was the pinging of my phone that got me fully back to reality. Looking down at my open phone, I saw that it was a text message from a good friend, Julie.

[J: hope you are safe in there champ i want that beach trip]

I sent a text saying ok and thank before I shut my phone off entirely. Arriving at the hospital at night was an eerie feeling that made me even more uncomfortable. I was striped out of my clothes and they were out in a plastic bag before I was given a hospital gown.

"Could you tell me the date," Carlisle asked me once I was prepped.

"It is July 11th 20XX, and it is cool as hell," I said trying to relax.

"I am going to be giving you the aesthetic it will be very fast working. I want you to count down from one-hundred and blink every number," he said putting a needle into my IV bag.

"Ok, 100, 99, 98, 97, 96-,"I don't remember my eyelids being this heavy.

"-88, 87, 86," And it all went hazy.

I opened my eyes a moment later and I was in a plush bed with Carlisle monitoring my health. After a few minutes of silence, I finally spoke up.

"Here is a question for you doc," I said whilst heavily under the influence of the aesthetics.

"If vampires are the undead, and you have no blood flow. How do Emmett and Rosalie have so much fucking sex."

My question obviously threw him off completely. I knew this because he stopped his writing. He didn't answer me just shook his head and left me in the bed with an IV drip in my arm. It was uncomfortable but the pain in my left stump took presidency.

The skeletal metal hand was on the table next to me and I couldn't help myself. I picked up the light prosthetic and slide the wires/chords into the proper channel. I missed the right tubes a few times before it clicked and locked into place.

Here was the moment of truth, I first made a fist with my right hand to get the feeling of my muscles tensing before I tried to do the same with the left hand. At first nothing happened, I strained harder and harder until I thought I was going to pass out. The fingers on the metal hand twitched after what seemed like an eternity and I locked in on that feeling until I had made a tight, close fist with my new hand.

"Time to kick this into high gear," and I kept practicing my articulation.

 **THE END OF THE CHAPTER. THE NEXT CHAPTER IS CALLED ISABELLA'S BIRTHDAY TO GIVE YOU A HINT. I AM MAINLY DOING THE STORY FROM MY OC'S POV BECAUSE I AM NOT TO GOOD AT DOING DEPRESSION. WHO KNEW THAT MY OC HAD SO MANY TALENTS, ALSO AS YOU CAN READ DUEL IS FULLY HEALED AND BY NEXT CHAPTER HE WILL BE IN FIGHTING SHAPE (hopefully). SO UNTIL NEXT TIME, READ REVIEW AND ENJOY.**

 **Ghost Operation Systems signing out.**


	8. Isabella’s Birthday

**HELLO THIS IS ANOTHER CHAPTER. SORRY IT TOOK LONGER THAN A WEEK. I HAVE FINALLY DECIDED TO REVEAL DUEL'S REAL NAME AND I WILL INCLUDE A SMALL CHARACTER SHEET AT THE END. DUEL WILL HAVE SOME STRANGE BEHAVIOR BUT THINK FOR BEING AROUND THE CULLENS WILL CHANGE ANYONE. IF YOU CAN'T PICTURE THE PROSTHETIC HAND, LOOK UP THE KARL RUPERT HAND FROM HELLBOY (2004). STEPHANIE MEYERS OWNS THE ORIGINAL RIGHTS TO THE TWILIGHT FRANCHISE. READ AND ENJOY.**

Chapter 8: Isabella's Birthday

Duel POV

The past two and a half months have been the best of my life, also the most difficult. I had gotten my own room at the Cullen household and a better phone to talk with them. The time was also filled with emotional barriers being broken down by Alice. Let's start out with when I got released from the hospital and I returned to the remote house of vampires.

 _{Flashback}_

 _I had just stepped out of the car, when I was hounded by Emmett. He was like a a kid on a sugar high. He was bouncing around me and asking questions to rapidly for my muddled brain to understand. He wanted to see the new hand and wanted to fight me._

 _"Just shut up and tell me how you get erections," were the words that spilled out of my mouth._

 _"Woah, I was not expecting you to be gay for me," he said chuckling_

 _"Vampires are dead yet you get boners to fuck, what the hell? Also, I want to talk to the kitten," I yelled at the top of my lungs._

 _"I don't think that is the best idea right now," Esme said putting a hand on my shoulder._

 _"I wanna give her my answer to her sensual lips," I said with no filter._

 _I swayed around going up the stairs and I opened the door with my newly acquired hand. I accidentally crushed handle in my grasp but continued into the house._

 _"Kitten, I have your answer," I said before I was hit in the back of the head an was sent into the realm of unconsciousness._

 _I woke up with a horrible headache and a bad feeling. I remembered what I had down and I placed my face in my hands and nearly prayed for death. Why did I have to have such a bad reaction to the OxyContin. I took one little tablet right as I was leaving the hospital and it was the last one._

 _"So how is your kitten," Emmett teased._

 _"Just let me die," I groaned shielding my face._

 _"No, this is much more entertaining," Rosalie said as she laid across the lap of her husband._

 _"I would hate for your life to be boring," I said moving my arm to see her face._

 _She was just smiling and looking behind me. I followed her gaze and saw sight that filled me with dread. It was Alice and she was glorious in her rage. Her small size seemed to tower over me as her arms remained crossed. Her golden eyes looked at me in angry and a small glimmer of relief._

 _"So are you going to explain that outburst," even her musical voice was strained._

 _"Well, Carlisle gave me some really strong pain killers and it just took my inhibitions and put them in the backseat," I was cowed by her presence._

 _"Good, now your answer to my question," she said going quiet._

 _Straighten my back, I couldn't help but want to tease her slightly,_

 _"Which question? I don't remember you asking me anything."_

 _"Don't be an ass," she hissed trying to make me submit._

 _But it was too late, I was back into my comfort zone. I would not back down this time, but I was going to give her the answer she wanted so badly. I decided to get one last little joke in._

 _"Ok, fine but lean down so I can whisper it to you I have a headache and I'm dizzy," I lied._

 _She leaned down a little, she was still pretty small, and I grabbed her face to kiss her. She was so stunned she didn't move even when I released her. She just stood there, bending down to my level and eyes wide in shock._

 _"Don't tell me that you didn't get the answer? Do I need to send it again," I said breaking her out of her trance._

 _She smiled the brightest I had ever seen and hugged me from across the couch. She was giggled and I was infected by her joy and gave a large smile._

 _{Flashback End}_

Since then, she had been taking me on "trips" into Forks and surrounding towns to try and get me used to the idea of dating. We did what normal couples, I think, we (I) ate at restaurants and chatted about our lives. At first I had been hesitant to reveal anything about myself but it quickly faded to the point I even told her my real name, she was the only one who used it because she was the only one I gave permission to use it.

"Hey Adam," my kitten called to me.

"Yeah kitten," I said looking up from the current project.

"You know how school started a few weeks ago," she said vaguely.

"Yeah but how does that play into now," I asked still not getting her point.

"Well I was wondering, if you wanted to be enrolled in classes," she said grinning.

"You do know that as a eighteen year old, I don't want to go to that hell hole that drains the life out of you," her smile suddenly turned devious.

"Not even to spend time with your girlfriend," I returned fire quickly.

"My immortal girlfriend who is pretending to be with Jasper to keep the humans away," she lost her devious grin and sighed knowing I had won this match.

"Fine I will give this round to you, no school but I want to go cloth shopping," she said pulling me up.

I let her led me to her car and take me to a nearby town that I hadn't bothered to learn the name of yet. We went into a little dress shop that I had been forced to many times by my kitten.

"So why do you like this place so much," I asked tipping my head to the lady behind the register.

"It is so cute," she said not looking at me or paying any attention to my words, probably.

She grabbed a short blue dress that highlighted her slender frame and made her way into the changing rooms in the back. I was calmly sitting and waiting, but then one of the employees approached me.

"Um sir. If you don't mind me asking, why do you have only one glove on your hand in September."

"Well, recently I was badly burned and I don't feel comfortable showing the scars in public," I said trying not to glower.

After that, she apologized and left in a hurry. Looking over my shoulder, I saw Alice was glaring at the girl's retreating form. I raised an eyebrow and asked her the question silently.

"I leave you alone for a few minutes and you are already attracting girls," she said turning from me.

"Don't be like that kitten, I love your dress," I said trying to dissuade her anger.

It worked slightly because she twirled in her knee length dress that had ruffles from the waist down. Her eyes warned me that I was not off the hook yet but I knew how to escape this bear trap.

"I will make you a special meal," I whispered to her as I brought her into a hug.

She stiffened and I could feel the vibrations of her hunting growl. This was one thing that I had discovered, I could make a special food that vampires could eat. And Alice was loved it to the point I could make her as docile as her kitten nickname.

"So why this dress in particular," I asked as she was strolling back to the dressing room with multiple other dresses in different styles and colors.

"I thought you may like the color," she said smiling happily.

I smiled at her innocent response and waited for her to come on in the next dress. It was a fiery red that looked like flames wrapped around her. I complimented her and that pattern was repeated for about two hours of utter Hell. We left the shop with about six new dresses for her and a few things for me.

"So what now," I asked as we stowed the bags in her car.

"Well I think we should get you some books on forging since you have an interest in it," she said pointing to a bookstore that Isabella had recommended.

"Thanks for remembering my long winded rants about setting up my forge once I'm able," I murmured grateful.

She smiled softly and bought me a book an intermediary blacksmith techniques. I would have to repay her somehow. Find a job or stop being such a drain on the Cullen's, were some of my options. I looked down at my gloved left hand, I had put the slightly padded glove over my prosthetic to not attract as much attention.

The hand had been modified in the recent months through trial and error. The wires were no longer on the surface of the fingers but inside the now thicker appendages. They were also on a smooth track that enabled them to move quicker and more naturally.

"So when are you going to make your forge anyway. You have been speaking about it for months," Alice asked as we were unloading her purchases from the expensive car.

"Well, I was planning on doing it sometime this week," I said grabbing the final bag and walking into to the place I was calling home.

"Well just be careful. And I want my special meal now," she said putting her hands on her hip.

"Fine, What are you in the mood for? My roasted potato stew perhaps," I said smirking slightly at her excited answer.

"I would like some stew to man," it would appear that a bug an interrupt our conversation.

"I don't remember annoying you when you are with your girlfriend. Do you see me just barging into your room when you and the blonde get frisky?"

He just grinned sheepishly and turned to the growl that had filled the entrance way. It would seem that Alice was not as forgiving as I was. Her face was cutely scrunched up in anger that I couldn't bring myself to be fearful of. I just placed my hand on her head and just steered her to the kitchen to help me prepare her meal.

"Don't worry, I will only let you eat the meal," I said trying to take her mind off of Emmett trying to get in on her special meal.

"I just don't like the fact that you let the rest of the family taste it the first time you made it," she pouted as she got out the ingredients.

I just chuckled and gave her head one last rub before looking at the array of ingredients before me; Onions, flour, potatoes, carrots, water, and some seasonings. I grabbed a cooking knife and set to cooking her the promised meal. Once everything was cut to the right size, I place them in a pot to sweat and soften up. After mixing the flour with the salt, pepper, and sage, I poured the mixture into the pot and added half the amount of water it read in the cookbook. I stirred the pot until it began to thicken slightly.

"Is it ready yet," she asked sitting at the counter swinging her legs.

"You would be able to smell if it were ready so don't annoy me or I will call down the rest of the family."

She comically shut her mouth before letting me get back to cooking this weird stew. Entering the final stages of the process, I pulled out the secret/final ingredients: raw venison blood. I poured the bag into the now soft vegetables and immediately the aroma of iron filled the air. I heard voices of surprise and then the normally light footsteps of the Cullen's. I hung about a handful of cubed meat above the pot to warm up but not brown any.

"I thought we agreed that you were going to warn us when you were going to make your special stew," Edward complained before sitting down at the counter next to Alice.

"It made me finish early," Emmett complained.

"I highly doubt that this made you finish early minute man," I mocked turning off the burner.

He huffed but sat down, Esme and Carlisle entered happily began to chat while I set to dishing up the meal. Evenly dividing the warmed meat in the bottom of bowls, I ladled the portions into them with practiced care. I gave everyone a little over one ladleful, but I gave Alice two ladles and then I place the bowls in front of the necessary people and then pricked my finger behind my back before letting my blood lightly drip into my kitten's food.

"I am amazed that you devised this method to let us eat like normal people again. You even got rid of the horrible taste of the regular food," Carlisle praised as he gracefully placed a spoonful in his mouth.

"I'm more amazed that our hunting instincts don't demand that we feed form you," Rosalie said eating my some hesitance.

"I would taste terrible plus I know that you would feel horrible if you attacked me. No matter how much you want to say that your instincts are completely animal, you still retain some control," I said cooking the rest of the venison in a pan with vegetable scraps for myself.

"Do you have a gift for Bella's birthday yet," my kitten asked after she devoured the bowl of stew.

"You were serious about that, when is it anyway," I said sitting down and eating my dinner.

"It's on Tuesday, you have tomorrow and Tuesday morning before we have to set up for the party here," Alice sighed before giving me my timeframe.

They began to go back to their rooms before being politely asked by Esme to clean their bowl and place them back in the cupboard. I washed my plate and went up the stairs to my bedroom, it was originally the guest room for when people from other Covens stayed for a few days. I had of course made my own modifications to give it my own personality.

First, I had put heavy drapes to cover the windows so that I wouldn't be woken up ever morning that the sun was out. The bookshelf was filled with whatever gained my interest, from books on sewing to CDs with Gaelic battle hymns. The small cot that was more like couch for sitting then sleeping but I managed anyway.

I had pinned to the walls drawings and schematics of many strange things. I had detailed drawings of weapons that I wanted to make, but I also had drawings of things that I had dreamed of. A grove with hanging trees that bloomed brightly, a silvery bull that pulled a chariot, and right in the middle of the wall was a picture of Alice.

It was a mixture between pastel, watercolor paint, and charcoal. It was just from her shoulders and above but her expression was surreal and calm. Her eyes were golden and her rosy lips slightly parted. Turning away from my masterpiece I sat down on the cot and grabbed my sketchbook to brainstorm ideas for Isabella's present. I wanted to make something but I wasn't fully sure what I could do in just two or so days. I settled on making a pendant and maybe a knife of some kind.

"What are you thinking for Bella," Alice asked barging into my room.

"Well, if I am given more time to think without a nosy girlfriend hassling me," I trailed off as she sat next to me and leaned on my shoulder.

She took a deep breath with her eyes closed before speaking, "I like your art. I think that if you pull it off then Bella will love it."

"The only problem is the time constraints," I complained, "if I want to make the knife I will have to cut down on the size but also the decorations. It won't be the prettiest blade but I will look good."

"Are you going to need any help with this," she asked content with her position.

"Nah, I can do the pendant tonight. It is luckily a simple knot and I only need a pair of pliers and some steel wire."

I went over to the rudimentary desk that I had made to grab some of the scrap wire that I had pilfered from somewhere. I was going to make a cursive letter but I wasn't sure which one I should use B or I. The I would piss her off and be a good laugh whenever I saw her. I asked the vampire that was lounging on my bed and she just smacked my head and ordered my to do the B.

I put it on a silvery chain necklace and set it down in a small display box. All in all it only took about and hour to make due to my making so many different variations before I came to the finished product. I then sketched the knife and talked with my girlfriend.

"So how are you going to convince her to come over, you know that she doesn't enjoy making a big deal out of herself," I asked.

"I saw that she was going to be here so she is," she said with her nose in the air.

"Just like I was going to be the one who broke Emmett's mirror on his Jeep," I said reminding her about the incident where I was nearly blamed for Rosalie's mistake.

"Now come on I want my sleep," I said nudging her slighting as I laid down on my side.

She laid next to me and snuggled her back into mine and draped my arms around her pixieish frame. I fell asleep feeling her cool skin and soft hair. I hoped that dreams didn't give me anything to distract myself when I have a knife to make for the birthday girl.

 _~Time Skip: Early Morning~_

I woke up with Alice still in the same position as last night. Only I had tightened my arms around Alice as we continued to spoon. She had changed her clothing some time during the night to a loose pair of pants and one of my T-Shirts.

"I'm awake now, so you don't have to fantasize about my sexy voice," I teased as I stretched my arms before my difficult task of making a blade with minimal tools.

"Just so you know, you drool in your sleep."

I just laughed and got the designs that I drew the night before and got my slightly thicker pants and apron before I walked down to begin a perfect Monday.

Alice POV

As I watched my boyfriend work on his project for Bella's birthday, I felt a warmth spread throughout my body. His sweaty muscles rippled slightly as he tried to make deliberate strikes to the metal. I knew that I would have to get to school soon and be bored out of my mind.

I wished Adam good luck and got a grunt of acknowledgement before I got into Rosalie's car. I was planning how to get my stubborn boyfriend into a suit that made him look less barbarian like. He had fully recovered from his fight with James and he was even growing back his hair.

His coarse black hair was rugged and had no curl in it at all. I told him nearly every day how he should condition his hair to make it softer for me to pet. He would always snap back with a witty comment or sexual joke that completely distracted me.

"So what do you think about the human," Rose asked breaking the silence.

"Which one? We have two in our group now."

"Both of them really but mainly Isabella. She is too fragile and temporary. Edward will never turn her and she just doesn't fully understand how our world is," Rosalie explained with a deep passion. "And that asshole Duel, he is too rough and I feel like he is going to snap one of these days. He went from hating us to cooking us dinner. It just doesn't seem real. He is also too noisy"

Her words picked at all the secret insecurities that I kept hidden from the rest of the family about my relationship with Adam. I argued, with my sister in all but blood, that he had spent several months with us and not only gotten used to us but also had grown to care for our wellbeing.

"We're here," Rose said after a minute of silence.

As usual, all the humans looked at us in reverie and I feel into my happy and quirky routine that made some people avoid me but I quickly met up with Jasper and made sure to send him calming emotions because I saw that his entire body was tense. The bell rang and we glided over to our seats before we took out our notebooks. It was all for the sake of appearances because we had already graduated and learned this material over and over again. My pencil was moving at blinding speed, as I began my monotonous task of re-writing notes that I had taken many times before.

Duel/Adam POV

As I cleaned up my small workplace, I could only wait for the timer to go off and then repeat the process in the oven again for another hour before the blade would be fully tempered. It had taken about half an hour to set up the cinder block and blowtorch furnace, two hours for me to fully shape the small blade from a ball bearing, and another ninety or so minutes to do the miscellaneous things like drilling holes and sharpening it.

"Are you finished yet because the sour smell is going to take forever to get out," Esme said handing me a tall glass of water.

"In about an hour I will be finishing up the handle and pray that Isabella enjoys the thought. Now that I think 'bout it, lover boy probably doesn't want her to have anything that could hurt herself."

"Hmm, if you give a good reason like a tradition then he won't argue much," she suggested.

"Well I hope that my ability to bullshit my way out of this still works," I ignored her glare and set to finishing the birthday present.

I grabbed a bite to eat as I waited and enjoyed a conversation about design with the only other person in the house.

"I'm just saying, I think that it would be better if you had marble counters with steel accents," I suggested for the kitchen.

"Yes but that theme just seems a little too played out. Moving on to the main living room, I think that an open air concept with make up for the smaller room and let nature be a central theme," she penciled in her ideas.

"It would give nature a greater role if you included different potted plants," I said as she wrote that down as well.

We traded ideas back and forth until the timer dinged and I wrapped my hand with heavy cloth before I began the slow process of venting the hot air so not to let the blade get thermal shock and destroy the entire thing. Testing the edge with a small rasp, I saw that the blade was fully formed.

"Well, all I need to do is the guard and handle," I said sitting down on the couch after pulling the low table with my tools on it.

"I thought that you were going to need to put it in the oven for a second time," Esme asked not looking up from her list.

"I said that mainly just for a maximum time," I said looking down at the dry fit of the small knife.

It was seven inches in total, with a three inch blade that had a double sided grind, the handle was a hand ground cedar that had the initials I. S. carved into the body. The guard was a ovular ground piece of steel that was plain. I hand only used the hand rasp and a few other tools to grind the shape.

I heard the low rumble of cars pulling into the drive and I glanced over to the cloth that read four o'clock. Looks like time just got away from me. The first one in the house was Jasper followed quickly by my Alice. Alice zeroed in on me and draped herself over my shoulder and began to ask too many questions for me to answer.

"What has you so energized," I said interrupting.

"I saw Bella and Edward being lovey-dovey and I want that, so please pamper me," she purred.

"Fine, but tomorrow I am going to have to rush the final assembly," I pulled her small and light frame and set her in my lap.

She nodded before pressing her face into my collarbone. I teased her about how two months ago, she couldn't even touch me for more then a few seconds. She protested but didn't move from my embrace. I felt something was going to go wrong but I shook it off because Alice would have noticed anything. Despite this, I felt an annoying little feeling in the back on my head disagreeing.

"Looks like the love birds can't keep their hands off each other," Emmett teased before I threw a pillow at him.

I tightened my arms around Alice and stood up with her still in my arms. I adjusted her so that I was carrying her like the little princess that she was. I walked confidently to her room before placing her on her head with a kiss to her forehead. This made her freeze up, but I just gave her one of my gentle smiles. I was never the one to instigate physical contact so this was a new thing for me.

I laid down on my stomach and I felt the comforting weight of Alice on my back before I just released all my tension. I was content and looking forward to the celebration, but I still felt that apprehension that worried me.

~ _Time Skip: After the Party_ ~

Why had I ignored my instincts? The party had started off well enough with Isabella actually coming and accepting our gifts. Emmett had teased her about her 'classic' truck and his blonde had given her gift without any real tact. When it came to my gift, I handed over the two boxes that Alice had helped me make.

She put on the necklace and it contrasted with her pale skin nicely. As she took the small knife in her hands the first time, I saw uncertainty but she thanked me for the handmade gift.

It had all gone downhill when she gave herself a small cut from trying to open Carlisle's gift. It was so fast but I could clearly remember what had happened. Jasper had lost control and charged at Isabella and even shook off Emmett and Edward before both me and Alice stopped him. I wrapped him in a crushing grip and Alice began to talk calmingly to him before another issue arose. To try and protect his girl, Edward had gave a gentle (vampire) push and she had sailed back into a small table with a few vases and got shards in her arm.

Alice, Rosalie, Jasper, and Emmett quickly left before the sight of so much blood and I was left with the task on getting some powerful stain remover. I was dropped off at the store by a stoic Edward and a panicking Isabella that had been bandaged up by Carlisle.

"That will be $8.24 sir," the cashier said and held out his hand for the money.

I mumbled something about overpriced before I handed over the needed money. I grabbed my purchases and pulled out my phone to call my ride. Before I could get to the needed contact my phone flashed and rang out with Chief Swan's name.

"I need your help," he sounded highly frantic, "Bella is missing and I can't find her anywhere."

"I will be right over," I said before breaking into a frantic run.

This was not good, Victoria was still on the loose, but Eddy boy should have taken her home without any complications. I was about two miles away from the Swan house when I got the call and I got there in good time, only about twelve minutes. I saw damn near half the town with lights on but no Edward or Alice. I pushed this thought to the back of my head as I came up to the older Swan.

"Have you found her yet," I asked.

Seeing him shake his head, my nerves grew tenfold. Suddenly I heard a big commotion by the wooded area and saw a shirtless, muscular, and tanned teen with the missing girl in his arms.

"I found her sir," he said before passing her into her fathers outstretched arms.

"She was underneath some roots and mumbling," he said before looking directly into my eyes.

I felt something stir in the depths of my soul as I stared right back at him and felt him backdown for now. I heard the sleeping girl mumble Edward's name a few times before she disappeared into the house. After a minute of waiting for Chief Swan, I asked the stressed father a question.

"Do you mind if I borrow Isabella's truck, I haven't been able to get ahold of the Cullen's. Don't worry I'll get it back to you tomorrow at the latest," I noticed the teens eyes sharpen but decided to leave it for later.

"Sure, just tell Edward that I want to talk with him before he sees my daughter next," I felt that this talk was going to involve a shotgun.

After reassuring him that I would drag the missing boyfriend here myself, I started the old truck and drove down the familiar path. On the way, I tried to call Alice, Edward, and Carlisle but got voicemail each time. I turned one last time and pulled up to the Cullen house with a loud rumble.

Something was wrong and I felt the anomaly immediately. The house was quiet with none of it's usual bustling. The silence was deafening and I saw that all the blinds and curtains were drawn close. There was no sign of the cars, even though there had always been at least one at the house. I grabbed the locked metal handle and crushed it so that I could enter the house.

'I'll replace that later,' I thought continuing on.

Once I was inside, I saw that the piano was still broken along with the table from the scuffle earlier. I saw a note and a letter on the kitchen counter, so I picked them up and read the easier to access note. It was in Edward's handwriting and it gave me some shocking news,

 _Duel,_

 _I know that you are going to be mad, but_

 _people are beginning to notice that Carlisle_

 _isn't aging and tonight was the final straw. I_

 _will do anything to protect my Bella even if_

 _it means breaking her heart. I ask for you to_

 _protect her and make sure that she is safe._

 _Alice wrote you the letter that you should see_

 _next to this. Please don't destroy this house in_

 _your rage._

 _Edward_

I was so shocked that I read the note several times before it fully registered in my head. I didn't need him to tell me that the letter was from my kitten because I recognized her graceful writing. Which before now, I had loved and enjoyed looking at, but now it mocked me and filled me with white hot anger. I turned my back on the letter without reading it and walked out of the house that had provided me a shelter for the past months. Slamming closed the ruined door behind me, I walked back to Isabella's borrowed truck that I was going to be riding back to hope that I could stay the night. But I knew one thing for certain, they had left me behind with nothing, and I was furious.

 **SO ANOTHER CHAPTER IS DONE AND I AM TIRED. THIS WAS A DIFFICULT TIME BUT I SURVIVED AND I WILL CONTINUE TO PUT MY WRITING SKILLS TO THE TEST AND MATURE THEM ALONG THE WAY. I PROMISED A CHARACTER INFORMATION SHEET ON DUEL/ADAM SO HERE IT IS. FROM NOW ON HE WILL BE ADDRESSED AS ADAM IN THE POV CHANGES.**

 **Name: Adam Orthro Bjørnir**

 **Age: 19**

 **Birthday: March 7th**

 **Gender: Male**

 **Height: 6ft 4in**

 **Hobbies: metal working, drawing, teasing Alice**

 **Hair: Bald (black)**

 **Eyes: Brown**

 **READ, REVIEW, AND ENJOY.**

 **Ghost Operation Systems signing out.**


	9. Anger, Sorrow, and Comforts

**I HAVE HAD A FLASH OF INSPIRATION THAT SOMETIMES HITS ME AND I AM WRITING AS FAST AS POSSIBLE. I DON'T DO MOPING TEENAGENESS BUT I WILL TRY.**

 **DxGRAYxMAN-yes it will take a lot for Adam to forgive Alice but the pairing I am working hard to make seem natural (an oxymoron I know but).**

 **TWILIGHT IS NOT OWNED BY ME BY RATHER STEPHANIE MEYERS AND THE FILM COMPANIES. I ONLY OWN MY OC. ENJOY THIS CHAPTER THAT WILL BE IN THE NEW MOON BOOK.**

Chapter 9: Anger, Sorrow, and Comforts

Adam POV

I couldn't even think properly as I drove back to Isabella's house. Rage was the most prevalent emotion that I was feeling right now and my hands were already biting into the steering wheel.

' _Why? Why!? WHY!'_ I wanted to scream out.

Suddenly the voice that had not even appeared in months screamed at my rage. I nearly went of the road as the bellowing voice filled my thoughts,

 **"GJENVINNE VÅR ENGEL!"**

"Shut up," I screamed, "she left me!"

The voice began to curse and rage as I slow began to accept the fact that I had just had my heart torn out and destroyed after I opened up entirely. I could feel myself closing off and focused all my rage on one thing, protect Isabella Swan. Not for that bullshit leech, but rather to spite him and show that I could make her strong without him.

 **"Du er en fei, kjører og gjemmer seg,"** the voice growled and then went back to its stewing anger.

I ignored it and pulled into the Swan house's driveway, I was nervous but I knocked on the front door anyway. I heard a few curses and heavy footsteps. He opened the door and he saw my trembling frame.

"What's wrong? I thought you would have been back in the morning," he had slight bags under his eyes.

"I had a disagreement with the Cullen's about them taking off so suddenly and they kicked me out," I said after entering the living room.

"Explain," he said while he sat me down.

"The Cullen's have been planning to move and they decided that tonight was the final straw because it was their fault that your daughter got injured," I lied.

"I tried to convince them that it was just an accident, but I was kicked out and they locked up the house. They gave me permission to get my things moved out but I decided that tonight the feelings were still too raw," he just nodded and let me sleep on his couch.

The rough material of the blanket scratched my chin as I laid back and began to make plans for the future. It was a futile attempt because my mind was getting sluggish as the adrenaline began to wear off. I closed my eyes and knew nothing until the morning.

When the morning did come, I felt the events from the previous night press down on me. I did my morning business and was greeted by a tired father and a blank, red eyed Isabella. She stared at the table with a glumness that made my rage pause for a moment but return full force. Those leeches had hurt a young and innocent girl whose only issue was that she had fallen in love with a vampire.

"Isabella," my voice was gruff and I saw her face gain some life.

"I know what they did. I stand here before you and promise that I will protect you and help you recover," Chief Swan was surprised but he nodded me to the living room to talk.

Before I could follow the frustrated father, Isabella began to cry tears of pain and sorrow. I lifted her trembling frame into my bulky arms and held her in a gentle embrace. Her large, wet tears stained my shirt, but I didn't care. She was venting all of her frustrations and I stood there, like a statue, and guarded her.

"It will be alright. I am here," I murmured into her hair.

She sobbed until her light body relaxed and leaned into me fully. She cried herself to sleep, I felt the rage build again but forced it down as I lifted her in my arms and up the stairs, under the watchful gaze of her father, and into her room. After getting her comfortable, I sat heavily on couch and felt Mr. Swan join me.

"She is going to have a difficult time," I said after a slow silence.

"Yeah, and I want you to know that you are welcome here. I saw how she opened up to you," he paused, swallowing, "I know that I'm not the best father for talking to, but she is my daughter and I will do whatever it takes to help her."

"I understand completely."

Over the next few days, Charlie and I formed a good relationship. I would help Isabella when he was at work and he would let me stay here, as long as I didn't eat like a horse.

The following month was the most difficult time for me because not only did I have to help Isabella recover but I also had to begin salvaging my life.

I had went back the the Cullen's house and collected only my large hatchet and some of my maintenance gear for my hand. That was another thing that Charlie was shocked about, but he got over the shock of seeing me take of my hand and oil the joints.

"What are you doing," I asked sitting on the edge of Isabella's bed.

"Nothing much," she softly said.

She was sitting at her crowded desk and tapping nervously on her laptop. She had been doing this for about ten minutes now, type something, then delete it, and then retype it. She finally decided on the wording because she clicked and sent the email.

"You have been stressing about this. What are you doing?" I looked over her shoulder and was shocked.

She was sending emails to Alice! I saw several other attempts to contact Alice and felt slightly betrayed but knew that Isabella needed some form of closure that I couldn't give her. I ignored her calls and flopped down on her bed. The emails were not being received and that thought made my anger rise up again. Alice had spoke about how she was the best of friends with Isabella, and now she wouldn't even respond to her.

"I'm sorry," the sullen face of Isabella made me feel bad.

"It's fine. I know that you need the closure and you shouldn't be ashamed. I am just frustrated," I sat up and brought the distraught girl into a one-armed hug.

She leaned into me and I heard the front door squeak open and a clatter and multiple sets of feet walk in. Standing up and making myself presentable, I led Isabella down to see that one of Charlie's friends had come to hang out again.

Billy Black was wheeled in with a few six packs of beer. Following behind him was Julie Black, a shared friend between Isabella and I with a bag full of fried fish. She was wearing a pair of faded jeans and an old t-shirt. Her long hair was pulled back with a hair tie and she looked amazing. Her slightly wiry frame was filling out, I noticed, and she seemed to be gaining more confidence.

"Looks like It is time for some drunken storied," I said peering down.

I heard some grumbling but knew that I was going to be hearing some good ones. I nodded my head in greeting to Julie and saw her huff in exasperation. Ouch, she must have been mad that I hadn't called her in awhile.

Isabella weakly greeted the guests and tried to go back to her room. I grabbed her arm and forced her to follow me to the kitchen where I oversaw her eat a full plate of food. Charlie nodded in agreement, but Julie and her father were definitely surprised by the forceful approach I took to helping Isabella.

"So how have you been," I said getting a grunt from Julie.

"Maybe if you called at all you would know how I'm doing," her scathing comment showed her true feelings.

"Yeah, my baby girl has been constantly waiting for your call and to be honest I feel a little jealous," Billy teased as Julie blushed from the embarrassment.

"Dad stop it!"

We chuckled at her red face and set to watching the game on the old TV. The silence between Julie and myself was broken when she turned and punched my shoulder. It hurt a little but I knew her intentions, so I dropped my shoulder and bumped roughly into her. She laughed and I felt a pull that was quickly extinguished.

Now that the silence was gone, we talked and I promised to call her at least twice a week. I showed off the newest model of my hand to a captive audience. I had shown the prototype to Julie when I had visited La Push, it was about a week after my surgery and it was hilarious to take off the hand and toss it at the panicked girl.

"So how is Bella doing," she asked in a hushed tone as Billy and Charlie sat drunk.

"She is doing slightly better with a sympathetic shoulder to cry on," I sighed and looked at my hands.

"But she still has nightmares and wakes up screaming."

She shook her head slightly and asked if Isabella was going to be going to live with her mother. I told her that the stubborn Charlie Swan only wanted his daughter to stay in a comfortable place to recover.

It was when they were leaving that something happened. Charlie was on my couch nearly asleep. Billy was laughing at a joke that nobody knew about and Julie just shook her head in exasperation and wished me good luck with her friend. I went to help Billy out of the house when he grabbed my wrist.

"Watsh ou' for the leeches."

I froze slightly but made him release me and then I pushed the slightly drunken man out the door and waved good bye to the slightly worried Julie. She was a sweet person and I reminded myself to check in with her. I sat down wearily at the table and felt my ever-present anger calm slightly as the exhaustion set in from the day.

"I need a new hobby," I said before drifting into a dreamless sleep.

Bella POV

The months were beginning to blend together. I mainly just stared out my window at the tree in the front yard. The one that _he_ used to climb in my window at night. The rest of October passed with no real changes, I noted. November and December, when the snow began to set in, I noticed a change in Adam.

He began to leave the house on day trips and would return sweaty and exhausted. I noticed that he would often be talking to someone on his phone, and he even seemed cheerful when doing it. I felt guilt because I knew that I was just being stupid. He was obviously hurting from the Cullen's leaving just as much as I was but he didn't complain and helped me. He never spoke about how he felt but I could see the anger that was in his eyes and I was comforted by the fact he never stayed away from me. I had lost track how many time I cried myself to sleep in his arms. I always felt empty afterwards but then the nightmares came for me.

They were always the same, Edward telling me that I was not meant for him and that we could never be together. Other faces would join in and it was so painful that I wished for it to stop so badly. January was when I began to send at least one message to Alice every day. I was never the suffer loudly type so writing emails helped me come to realize how broken I was. They never were received but it gave me some peace.

 **[Dear Alice, you've disappeared, like everything else. But who else can I talk to? Adam is so angry and he never opens up fully...he has become so guarded. I don't know how I can help him...I'm lost, Alice. When you left — and he left — you took everything with you. But the absence of him is everywhere I look. It's like a huge hole has been punched through my chest. But in a way I'm glad, the pain is my only reminder...that he was real. Time passes so strangely and my heart aches with every tick of the clock.]**

I clicked send and immediately the same message that I was so familiar with popped up, Mail Delivery Failure. The words mocked me and I heard the familiar knock of Adam. When I let him in, he sat on my bed and pointedly avoided my laptop. I looked at him and saw how he had changed over the past couple of months.

He had grown his black hair out slightly, keeping it about an inch long, and even began to grow a small beard. He kept that trimmed and clean. It matched his self built image of a woodsman who didn't enjoy being around people. He only enforced this image by doing odd jobs around the town. I had seen him shoveling driveways, preening trees, and even mechanic work on cars.

This work allowed him to make some money and gain muscles. He never really spoke about what he did for fun but I wasn't really that interested in what he did for free time. Seeing the clock, I knew that it was time for another day of bleak and hollow learning.

Muttering a goodbye and getting a grunt in return, I went to get in my truck. Charlie was leaning against door and that was a strange thing. Usually, he was heading into work with his cruiser and I would only see him in the evenings.

"Ok, this is enough," he started.

"You are going to Jacksonville with your mother. This kind of behavior isn't normal and it's scaring me."

"But dad-"

"No, you probably are doing better due to Adam, but you are waiting for something that isn't going to come back, Edward isn't coming back."

Hearing him say this made my heart ache even more but I could show him that it hurt, so I made up a quick lie.

"I know. I actually have a, uh, I'm going shopping with Jessica."

"You hate shopping," he said with a disbelieving look.

"Yeah, well, I guess I just need a girl's night out. You could even go drinking with some of your buddies. It could be fun for both of us," I said getting his approval.

He nodded but still looked skeptical, he had to get to work, so I was left alone to get to school. I had only dug myself deeper into the ground, I had to get Jessica to agree to come with me. Adam would be worried but he always was nowadays and I hoped this would give him a chance to relax a little.

"Hey how are you guys," I greeted weakly when I saw Jessica, Mike, and Eric.

They seemed shocked that I was even talking to him and I felt a wave of pain. They had been nice to me when I had first arrived and I had just ignored them when I was with Edward. I decided to be straightforward with it and ask her directly to come to the movies with me. I may have said that I would be going shopping but my mind still rebelled at the thoughts of going shop to shop.

"Ok, but you have to pick the movie," I knew that this was hopefully going to be the start of me opening up.

Duel POV

When I was told that Isabella was going to be hanging out with some of her old friends, I was shocked but happy. This meant that she was, hopefully, opening up more. Sure she had confided in my the reasons for her gloom. I suspected that it was only a small percentage of what really plagued her, but I couldn't force her to open fully.

"So what are you needing help with today," I asked the elderly lady in front of me.

"Well, my garden needs to be prepared for the coming season. The grounds needs to be tilled and some mineral thrown in. The fencing needs to be repaired and if you have time, could you add some fertilizer."

"No problem," I said getting to work.

This was why I mainly worked for people who were elders. They didn't endlessly talk about trivial things, most of the time, they also paid fairly and without any short changing me. I picked up the remains of the plank fence and saw that the wood wasn't rotten but some of the boards were cracked.

Pulling nails out, my thoughts turned to how my life had turned out. I had gone from a traveling hunter to a crippled housemate of vampires to a bitter guardian of an abandoned teenage girl. This was definitely not my goal in life. There were some positives, I thought, like my budding relationship with Julie.

We talked often and it had helped me recover slightly. She was the third child in an all girl family, except for her dad, and she was the tomboy of the family. She still was trying to get the pair of dirt bikes built and it was a source of constant teasing. After the talks that I had with her, as small as they were, I felt lighter and my heart didn't ache as much.

"Do you any help with that dear," my temporary employer asked as I lugged several boards over my shoulder.

Shaking my head no, I continued to reinforced her garden. The fence would hopefully hold for at least two years. Next on the list, turn this stubborn, rocky soil and make it easier to plant in. The tool in my hand made the task easier but I could feel my left hand begin to stiffen from something blocking the joints.

As it turns out, the gardening glove was being pinched in the knuckle joints and the only thing I could do was pull the glove and get back to work.

"How much did I promise you," the forgetful lady asked when I finished the gardening.

"I believe you promised twenty dollars and some of the produce when it was grown," I answered after thinking back.

She gave me the money and I strolled back to the Swan's house ready for a shower. I felt my phone buzz in my pocket and I checked the name and saw that it was Julie. I checked her message with no hesitation,

[J: I just got some scrap engines for the bikes. want to come over]

It seems that she was trying to get me out of the house and she also loved to use me as a pack mule. Her usually buddies just laughed at my misfortune before she began to order them around too.

[A: Isabella is going out with her friends so I have free time]

She texted me back that she was driving over now and that it would probably only take a few hours of labor to get the engines situated. She was always having something that needed to be done before the bikes could be ridden.

Hopefully she had some food when we got done because it was certain that this would take more than what she had predicted. I hurried back to where I was staying and changed clothes so that I was less dirty before I heard the door being knocked on.

"Hey, looks like you didn't take long," I greeted as I got in the truck with my friend.

"Yeah, well I was in town to pick up some oil for the truck," she seemed a little more nervous than normal.

"So, why aren't you in school now," I asked curious.

"It was a holiday today and I figured that you don't go to school so," she trailed off glancing at me.

We talked about how Isabella was doing and how I was going on the front of getting out of the house permanently. I was saving every penny that I could and was asking around for work that could pay well, but the jobs that I could work in were already taken so for now I was content with slowly making my way.

"So has got you so nervous," I asked getting a twitch from my driver.

"It's nothing, really," she tried to play off.

"You have not gotten better at lying."

"Fine, *sigh* lately Sam has been eyeing me like he is waiting for something," she seemed to be super stressed.

"If you want I could talk with him and convince him to leave you alone," I was worried.

Sam Uley had been a touchy subject between me and Julie. Whenever we brought him up to Billy, the issue was waved off and told that it would be dealt with. Apparently, Sam had been gaining followers from all over the reservation, and they always acted oddly after they started hanging out with him. They cut their hair and got matching tattoos. Overall it was a strange situation.

The laugh that I got was a relief because she must have been picturing me fighting with her fellow Quileute. We joked about how Sam was too much of a pussy to try and fight her.

"So who did you get these engines," I asked as we pulled into her workshop.

"They were in the junk area and cheap so I snagged them."

"They look ok, lets get them inside," I heaved one of the slightly rust engines.

We walked into the workshop, that was a refurbished barn, and I was greeted by tools skewed around a mostly constructed dirt bike. I sighed because I had just organized this area so that I could use it for some of my metal working. I had even restored my burning hatchet to perfect condition.

"Can you not keep a clean area for more than a week," I jokingly asked.

"I just get busy. I meant to clean up after tonight," she huffed cutely.

We worked with some degree of difficultly but found our rhythm and installed one of the engines. It was on the bike that we had modified for me. Better supports and a slightly bulkier frame were some of the upgrades that I bought personally.

"I'll give it a test drive," I said stretching my back and watching some redness spread over Julie's face.

I had a feeling that something was off but decided to go ahead with the drive. It started up with a low grumble but didn't stall after a minute so I decided to start a slow test drive. The bike moved at a good speed before I noticed something was very wrong. The engine was heating up too quickly, I could feel the burning heat even through my jeans.

I heard a pop before the fuel line caught fire. I leapt from the now burning bike right before it went into the shallows of the lake. I heard a shout of fear and surprise before I saw Julie sprinting towards me. When she reached me, she looked at my charred pants then at the smoking bike.

"Are you ok," she panted.

"Fine, just startled."

She sighed in relief before apologizing about the faulty bike. She took the blame because she had bought the bad engine. I comforted her the best way I knew how.

"It's fine. I know that you wouldn't hurt me on purpose," I patted her head comfortingly.

She froze as my hand went through her soft and silky hair. She even leaned into my hand before blushing brightly and pushing my hand away.

"I'm not a dog you idiot."

We didn't talk much on the way home, after I lifted the two hundred pound bike into the back of her truck, mostly from the embarrassment of what I had done. I was mildly embarrassed but didn't show it on my face, unlike Julie.

"Call me later, we will need to rebuild the engine, fuel line, and gearbox on my bike," I said before getting out of the rumbling vehicle.

"Don't forget to bring Bella with you next time," she said confidently.

I gave her a shrug and went into the house and turned to wave goodbye to her. I saw Isabella was sitting at the kitchen table furiously tapping on her laptop. When I walked up to her rush, I saw that she was looking for junk dirt bikes.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

She didn't even look startled as she answered me, "I'm looking for some dirt bikes that I can take over to Julie so that I can ride."

"Why would you want to do that? I mean one day out of the house and you are already going for extreme sports," I questioned.

"I got curious after the movie and rode a motorcycle with some guy."

"Did you know him," when she shook her head, I panicked slightly

"You put yourself in unnecessary danger. Why did you do it, huh? Why," I pressed.

"I saw him ok!" She shouted at me.

"What do you mean," I said getting concerned.

"I saw Edward, he was warning me about getting on the bike," she has officially lost it, I thought.

"He was there and the adrenaline made me feel amazing. I think that I am going over to the adrenaline junkie side."

"Your a dumbass, you know that," I said glancing at her from my spot on the other side of her.

"Yeah, but I want to see him again."

"Fine, but I'm coming with you to Julie's. Someone needs to watch over you troublemakers," I sighed and went to lay down on the couch.

I heard Isabella say good night before I fell into my slumber. Julie was not going to be happy about the trouble that the slightly depressed Isabella was going to get into working on machines of death. It was going to be funny.

 _~Time Skip: Two Weeks~_

I had been right, she was upset but quickly got over it when she realized that she would have another girl to talk to. It made a noticeable improvement in Isabella's mood that even her clueless father noticed. I meet up with Quil and found out that the last member of their trio, Embry, had joined up with Sam's group. It was a shock but the distraction of having to teach Isabella the mechanics of the pair of the bikes that she had bought, saved Julie's feelings.

"Well, can I ride it or not," Isabella asked impatiently.

"Down girl, I'll give you the basics on how to drive," Julie giggled and pushed the bike onto the path.

"This is the gas and this is the brake," the girl, whom I had a warm feeling in my heart for, pointed to each side of the handbar.

Isabella pressed the gas and lurched forward, startling both herself and Julie, before she steadied herself and took off at a pace that wasn't good for a beginner. I saw that she was shaking her head and saying something into the wind. When she veered into a large rock and hit her head, I jumped on the back of Julie's bike along with her and took off to the injured girl.

"Are you ok," I said as I slid of the back.

She didn't even have to respond for me to know that she wasn't, her forehead was bleeding. Julie didn't even say a word, she just pulled her loose gray shirt over her head and pressed it to Isabella's wound. The concern for the injured took a back seat in my mind as I looked at Julie.

She was wearing only a black sports bra and her faded jeans. I was mesmerized by the subtle curve of her developing muscles. Her skin was slightly sweaty and it glinted in the cool Washington air. Her hands, while stained with oil, were daintier than I had thought. Overall, I felt my mouth go slightly dry and I felt sheepish looking so intently at my friend's attractive body.

"Do you think you could help some," she scolded as she noticed that I wasn't doing anything.

I dumbly nodded and silently set to the task of picking up the injured. Isabella said that she was fine but we both ignored her protests and walked slowly back. Julie's face was bright red and she refused to meet my gaze. She was still shirtless but she snatched up her spare one when I was bandaging up Isabella.

"So are you stupid or suicidal," I said after cleaning the cut.

Luckily it was a shallow cut that just bled more than normal. Julie sat behind me as I chided Isabella.

"And another thing, if you think that you get out of our outing tonight just because of a head wound you're dead wrong," Julie laughed again and the clear sound brought up images of her body into my head.

"I know it was just such a rush and then I had lost control," this girl was going to be the death of me.

"Why did I even agree to come with you guy to the movies," I asked Julie.

"If I remember correctly, my dad would have found out what happened a week ago if you didn't come," she teased.

She had blackmailed me into submission and I didn't mind it. The only problem that I had was that Isabella's high school friends were going to be there and I was not looking forward to it. It was just so that they could meet the mystery person who was living with the Swan's.

Both Julie and Isabella seemed to take pleasure in my discomfort as we waited for the gaggle of teenagers to show up. I had an old hoodie and my black jeans on but it didn't nothing to conceal my rigid stature. My hair was still wet from my shower. Even my pride and joy, my growing beard, was glinting in the dusk.

When they did show up, I was disappointed in what I saw. The lone guy who introduced himself as Mike Newton was easily cowed by my appearance and his handshake was weak. His enthusiasm about being here quickly dampened. Jessica Stanley was the epitome of what I hated in people of my age group. She was chatty, giving me no time to greet her properly, rude, and gave me the impression that she was used to being the center of attention.

"Well what should we watch," it seems that Isabella was trying to defuse the obvious tension.

"I, I heard that there was a new comedy that came out. It supposed to be real funny," Mike said with little confidence.

"I think that would be good," Jessica said as she clung to his arm.

"I think the newest slasher flick would be a better choice," Julie said glaring slightly at Mike.

It would seem that I wasn't the only one here that disliked him from the beginning. I noticed that her eyes would flick to Jessica in irritation but paid it no mind. We settled on the gory movie that seemed more cheesy that scary.

I was right, it was just jump scares and a plot holes at every "twist". Julie seemed to be enjoying the trembling form of Mike, as she sadistically glared at him. He was such a spineless coward, even his girlfriend was doing better. She would still flinch on occasion but sat in boredom mostly.

When it came to a scene were someone was cut in half and the camera focused on organs that spilled out, Mike had had enough and ran out of the theater. I sighed heavily as our group got up and followed him. We found him bent over a trash can puking his guts out. It was pathetic, and Julie made a comment about how he was a marshmallow that needed a stronger stomach when Jessica came to his defence.

"He's just sensitive to blood and gore," she said trying to convince us.

"I'm fine," he groaned out.

"Maybe that wasn't the best idea, I'm sorry that I forced the topic," there Isabella goes again, taking all the blame onto herself.

"It isn't our fault that he has the knees of an toddler," I said patting her back.

Jessica glared at me and I knew that our future relationship was not going to be amiable at any point. Julie seemed to be talking with Mike about his uncool ways because he snapped at her,

"I have the stomach to watch it, you bitch!"

My fist clenched but it didn't matter because Julie, it would seem, had reached her breaking point.

"How 'bout I rip your fucking head off," she yelled lunging for him.

I caught her rage fueled body and noticed that she was burning up. I pulled her back and wrapped my arms around her smaller frame. She calmed down a little but still growled menacingly at the pale boy.

"What's wrong with you," Isabella ask touching Julie's shoulder, "you're burning up!"

"I don't know," she admitted, "I need to go home."

"You are driving in this condition, I know the way to your house. I'll drive," I led the feverish girl to her truck.

After making sure that she was buckled in and in a more comfortable position, I took off down the street and in the direction of her home. My focus wasn't really on the road however, my eyes kept on glancing over at Julie's clammy face. She seem to be getting worse and I was tempted to take her to a hospital but I knew that she would never want that and her father would want to see her straight away.

She would occasionally mumble about something being hers and that she wouldn't let anything stand in the way of what was hers. I ignored these statements because they were most likely caused by her fevered brain. When I finally took the final turn and drove up to her house, I saw that Billy was sitting on the front porch in his wheelchair.

"What's wrong there," he asked when he saw me carry his daughter through the front door.

"She has a fever. We don't no what happened to her, one minute she's fine the next she's about to tear some kid to pieces," I explained setting her down in her bed.

"I'll take it from here," Billy tried to push me out the door but I stayed stubborn.

I heard a loud growl come from the mouth of Julie and went over to her side. She was changing right before my eyes. Her body twitched and the hair on her body seemed to grow thicker on her entire body, but then she was back to normal and gasping being in pain.

"You need to leave," Billy's voice was cold and hard as he tried to order me out again.

I only shook my head and when he put a hand on my wrist, I clinched his forearm tightly, enough to get a gasp of pain out of him. A large furry mass broke through the window and lunged at my body. I let go of Billy and pile-drived the wolf into the wooden floor boards.

"I don't know what the hells going on, but I'm not just gonna leave now. I need answers, and I'm gonna get them one way or another," I stood unwavering as the wolf growled at me.

I felt a growl come up from deep within me and the wolf actually whimpered and I knew that I had cowed it to the point where I could have a conversation without having to worry about getting attacked again.

"Fine, if your so stubborn then I will take you to speak with the council and let them decide what to do. But for now we can only wait as the change finishes," his voice was pained and I knew I wasn't the only one going through turmoil.

 **SO THAT IS A WRAP ON THE LONGEST CHAPTER TO DATE. I HOPE THAT YOU ENJOYED THIS. I HOPE THAT I GET MORE REVIEWS. I LIKE CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM SO PLEASE REVIEW. READ, REVIEW, AND ENJOY. I'LL TRY TO POST CHAPTER 10 IN A WEEK, BUT SCHOOL HAS BEEN HAMMERING ME LATELY.**

 **Translations**

 **RECLAIM OUR ANGEL: GJENVINNE VÅR ENGEL**

 **You are a coward, running and hiding: du er en fei, kjører og gjemmer seg**

 **READ, REVIEW, AND ENJOY.**

 **Ghost Operation Systems signing out.**


	10. Wolf Pack

**I'M BACK AND I HAVE ANOTHER KICK ASS CHAPTER. I WANT TO REMIND MY READERS THAT THIS STORY IS RATED "M" FOR GORE, LANGUAGE, AND FUTURE SMUTTINESS. I DON'T OWN THE TWILIGHT SERIES BUT I DO OWN MY OC SO NO COMPLAINING. READ AND ENJOY THIS CHAPTER.**

Chapter 10: Wolf Pack

Adam POV

Watching as the wolf that attacked me changed into a semi-muscular man, was truly amazing, but it was interrupted by the pained screams of Julie. Another of the wolves entered the house and looked pointedly at me. It growled loudly in my ear, but I punched it harshly in the snout. It seemed stunned before it hunched up to attack me.

"Stop, Sam that is enough. He was with her when she started the change and he can be trusted," Billy said as he showed us out of the room.

"I am waiting for an explanation," I said feeling my patience wearing thin.

"And you will get one when Clearwater shows up," I could only sit down and listen to the pained whimpers of my friend.

When there was a harsh crash, I couldn't take it any longer and lunged for the door and tore it open. Standing in the remains of the bed and pile of tore clothes was a massive wolf, just like the ones that were in the other room. The wolf was about 10 feet in length, had russet brown fur, dark intelligent eyes, and a slender build that was built for speed. The wolf glanced around in confusion and looked terrified.

"Is that you Julie," I whispered.

Her head slowly raised to look into my eyes and the dark eyes had the same passion that I had come to admire. Her ears twitched, as the large wolf that had be called Sam, walked in and growled a low hum at her. She snapped her teeth at him and I felt that her ire was rising, so I step towards her.

I stretched out my left hand and placed it gently on her snout and gently moving closer and then placed my hand behind her ears and scratched. Her body relaxed and her tail wagged before she snorted and glared at me.

"It's going to be fine," I said trying to get her to relax again.

"I'm sure they will explain."

She stood firmly in place but nodded her head saying (nonverbally) that she had understood me. Billy came into the room and looked around at the damages before he sighed in exasperation and moved to the side to let Mr. Cleanwater in the room.

Harry Cleanwater was a stubborn and slightly pudgy Native American man who looked like he belonged on the front of a western postcard.

"We knew that she was descended from the chief but sometimes these things don't go the way we want," he paused looking at me.

"It would seem that an outsider has learned the nature of our tribe. I suppose that it was inevitable, I will explain the questions you have the best way that I can but for now let's get young Julie here back into human form."

He then began to coach her through the process of picturing her human body and forcing the wolf to the bottom before compressing your body into a human's. I didn't notice it until later but all the people in the room had turned around and I soon found out why. As Julie's wolf body folded into itself and the fur began to recede, I noticed that her torn clothing was on the floor and not on her body.

Her body had changed slightly, when she had completely reverted back, she gained more muscle and lost some of the baby fat that had stubbornly clung to her frame. It still had a feminine softness that was drawing me in. Her slightly coppery skin was no longer covered in sweat but her chest heaved like she had run a marathon. Her tones legs were crouched as she regained her composure. She looked like a sex goddess that had descended to earth and I felt a possessive rumble deep in my throat.

I heard a cough and was made aware that there were other people in the room with me. I turned around sharply and saw that Billy, the naked girl's father, was looking over at me with a stoic look on his face. However, his eyes gave away his amusement with a small twinkle.

When Julie was made aware of her current state of dress, she quickly covered herself in embarrassment and with a tone that promised pain asked a single question.

"Did anybody see?"

The way that she phrased it could almost make one think that she was calm about the entire situation, but her trembling shoulders and clenched fists made me step forward and gently place my arms around her. She stiffened but relaxed into my warm embrace, I noticed that her temperature had risen but not quite a high fever but it was more like a warm blanket fresh out of the laundry.

"Well, it looks like you are getting comfortable," Harry grumbled.

The wolf, that hadn't changed yet, let out an impatient yip and Harry nodded his head. We piled into our trucks, those that weren't a wolf, and took off towards a lodge that held the meetings. When we got there, there were some other trucks pulled up and I heard the running of several large wolves.

"So how to explain this," one of the elders began.

"We, the Quileute tribe, have a long and complicated history. Almost all of it centering around the pale folk," his face was stoic as he looked into the fire.

"When we were still a roaming tribe, we encountered many great spirits but one always held our admiration and that was the noble wolf, and in our time of greatest need, wolves were the ones who guarded us," his eyes were downcast and Billy spoke up.

"Every Quileute child is told the story of how wolves were our ancestors and that it is against tribe law to harm one and for the most part that it true. The whole story, however, is much more difficult to explain."

"Yes, it is," the elder sighed.

"It began almost fifteen hundred years ago, when we had set up a permanent settlement in the Forks area. We were simple hunter gatherers and were completely unprepared for when the pale folk, who coveted our land and wanted us as their food, attacked. It was small disappearances at first, a boy fell into the river and never swam back up stream or a hunter never returned with his prey after a long hunt. But one day we were openly attacked and a miracle happened. A pair of siblings, a brother and sister, happened upon where one of the pale hunters was ambushing a young woman. As they raced out of the forest, they changed into massive wolves that tore the pale one to pieces. In gratitude, the young woman brought them back to the tribe and told the chieftain, who was her father, about the attack and how she had been saved by these wolf spirit warriors. The siblings had stayed in their wolf form but then shifted back into our form. They introduced themselves as mighty warriors that hailed from a distant land that was in constant strife, and that they had fled to escape the violence."

I was leaning on the edge of my seat as the smoke billowed from the fire. Next to me, I saw that Julie was just as mesmerized by story. She looked regal as she listened to the elder tell the tale of how her people, and her in particular, gained the ability to change into giant wolves.

"The spirit warriors were welcomed into the tribe with open arms and the brother of the siblings married the young woman whom he had saved. The sister married a mighty warrior and they both had many children, and the tribe settled completely in Forks and began to live peacefully. However, it would seem that fate had different plans in store for this bloodline," he said ominously.

"After years of seeking vengeance for the death of one of their own, the pale folk attack and killed the brother shifter. As the village mourned the loss of it's mighty guardian, the pale ones attacked and nearly destroyed our tribe. The children of the spirit warriors in their rage took up the role that their fellow warriors were no longer able to do and defended the tribe," when he finished, the wolves howled loudly and I was filled with a strange feeling.

"And what happened to the other people from the distant land? Did any others ever show up, or did the female shifter die without giving anything up?"

At my questions, the elder gave me a steely glare that would have made a lesser man wilt but I was not lessor. I was stubborn and not feeling very apologetic at the moment.

"Why did you say that you assumed that I would shift due to belong to the chief's blood?" Julie asked after she took in the legend.

"You are the last descendant of the male spirit warrior who has reached the point where you could shift. You could lead the pack if you so desired. You have the aura of an Alpha."

"You haven't answered my question," I growled getting some huffs in response.

"You are an arrogant brat," the elder breathed out heavily.

"When the sister passed on to lay with her ancestors, she left behind a book that she said recorded the history of her people and her weapon was to be used to defend the tribe. The book was never deciphered from its language and we would never give it up to some outside scholar to ruin or hold in a museum. The weapon has been kept in our vault and never taken out for the battle that it's owner had foretold," Harry joined into the tale.

"Over time, the need for the power of the spirit warriors began to wane and the bloodline was diluted to the point where it didn't show up until many centuries later when those cursed Cullen's intruded on our land and we drew up the nonaggression pact," several of the gathered people spat on the ground angrily.

"That story seems like there is something missing and I don't understand why," I pondering why something was nagging me.

"I think for now, you should get some sleep and be better rested in the morning. Julie here will get more used to her place in the pack and I'm sure that if you have anymore questions I'm sure that the answers will come eventually," with that he turned and I knew that it was time for me to leave.

As I walked over to the truck, Julie caught my attention with a hand wave. She was standing taller and with a steel that wasn't there before but it gave her a fire that matched up well with her witty personality. I hoped that this didn't make it so that I couldn't speak with familiarly her anymore.

"That was a wild ride huh," and I knew that she was still there somewhere.

"I don't want Bella to know about this yet. She has just made a thin road to recovery and this could drag her back into our world," when she said our, it sent a shiver down my spine.

I nodded and told her that when Isabella found out that she was going to be pissed. Her firecracker rage would be amusing to see but I could keep this secret without much weight. Still though, I thought, there is something that seemed familiar with that story. Before my thoughts could drift into forbidden territory, I cleared my head of those ideas. Before I had even gotten fully out of the truck, I was hounded by Isabella.

"Is she ok," looks like Julie had a good friend.

"Yeah, it was just a cold. She has been pushing herself in school and with us. It looks like she will be fine in day, two at the most," I lied smoothly.

That satisfied her curiosity for now but I could see some of the kid-like curious had returned to her eyes. I was exhausted and let the events drift to the back of my mind. Suddenly, the images of Julie's stunning body came to the center of my mind's eye and I felt heat rush to my face. I tried to busy myself doing some upgrades to my hand, but my concentration was not on the task.

"Damn it you fool! Remember what happened last time," I felt the emotions drain from me at the somber memories.

 _§Dream§_

 _Shouts of anger and pain echoed hollowly in my ears, but I couldn't see anybody else in the field that I found myself in. The wind howled and tore ferociously at the air surrounding me and the smells of charred wood and iron filled my nose. Looking around, I saw that the earth was burning and nothing living, plant or animal, was around me._

 _The cries for mercy began to grow louder as I walked over to what used to be a forest. It was now only a husk of death that showed torn and bloodied standards laying abandoned on the ground. I followed my ears and came to a clearing in the blacked, scorched earth._

 _Standing with a face raised to the darkened sky was a bare chest man. He stood with his broad and scarred back facing me, and when he tilted his head down, I heard him him grunt with displeasure. His arms had broken manacles that still had chains swaying from them. As he turned to face me, every muscle in his body rippled and I was shocked when I saw his face._

 _It looked similar to my face but had some key differences: my brown eyes had been corrupted to a hollow and soulless black that covered the entire eye, his hair was shorter and crusty from some unknown liquid, and deep, hungry scars laced their way across his cheeks and dug furrows into his forehead._

 _He released a breath that hissed and steamed in the wet air before leaning forward to disappear until he was right in front of me. He grabbed my shoulder and applied a crunching grip that made me release a grunt of agony. He growled right in my ear and with venom said,_

 _ **"Du er en fei som ikke engang kan kjempe for din valgte!"**_

 _"I am not a coward and I fight only when I need to," I snarled back at him._

 _He growled in anger and moved both of his hands to close around my throat. He didn't crush my airflow entirely just put a strong pressure of my neck._

 _ **"Hevder vår Ulv."**_

 _What did he mean by wolf? I didn't know any except for the Quileute and I certainly had no claim to any of them. Julie's smiling visage entered my thoughts but I dismissed the fact that her tribe would most likely isolate her to preserve the bloodline of the chief._

 _ **"Vis vår Engel som hun tilhørwr,"** now I felt a blood boiling rage taint my mind._

 _"She left us! She abandoned us when we had given her our heart, our trust!" I spat in his face with my anger._

 _He released my tender throat and backed away with a stoic look that I often found on my own face. He waved his hand and a throne erupted from the earth with a loud rumble. It was draped in furs of all sorts of exotic animals and stacked at the base were human skulls that were drenched in red and a large axe laid across the padded armrests._

 _He grabbed the axe and sat, without a single emotion appearing on his copy-cat face. He growled and drummed his fingers on the sharpened edge. His scarred face no longer acknowledging that I was in front of him, inching back slowly._

 _ **"Jeg vil ikke bli lenger lenger. Ikke hvis du nekter å kreve hva som er vår,"** he whispered after a minute of silence._

 _He repeated his statement again, this time with more anger and passion and his voice took a demonic tone before he threw the heavy axe spinning towards my frozen body. I closed my eyes and heard the familiar scream of Isabella._

 _§Dream End§_

I awoke gasping for air and looking around wildly before the screaming stop with Charlie's calming voice filtered downstairs. I relaxed and heard the man's last words echo in my head,

 **"Gjør krav på hva som er vårt!"**

It would seem even my dreams seemed to haunt me, leaving me confused and frustrated with their unclear messages. I got up and lumbered over to the table as Charlie entered and opened a can of cheap beer. Seeing the dark, etched lines around my eyes, he didn't protest much when I grabbed my own can of beer.

"You are underage you know," he said shortly.

"I'm Canadian," I grumbled as I took a mouthful of the beer.

"Well you are an adult, just don't make this a habit," see what I mean this was a good relationship.

"I don't plan to, this is just to relieve some stress," he nodded before silently finishing his can.

I took careful mouthfuls and felt the bitter liquid glide smoothly down and settle in my mostly empty stomach. I glanced to the window that showed that the sun's first rays were beginning to peak over the tree line. My phone began to gently buzz from its place on the counter, so I picked it up and answered without even checking the caller ID.

"Are you awake," Julie's excited voice was on the other end of the call.

"If I weren't, I wouldn't be talking with you now," I grumbled still in a bad mood from my dream.

"If you're going to be like that, I'll hang up," I heard the teasing tone that told me she wasn't serious, but under that I heard some uncertainty.

"No, I just woke up a few minutes ago and I'm still half asleep. What do you need so early in the morning."

"Well, I just got back in from being with the pack. It was incredible and I don't even feel that tired from being up all night," her voice was cheerful.

"It's amazing to run as a wolf, I feel so...free. Though it does have some downsides," she paused waiting for me to speak.

"Well, I don't fully understand how being fuzzy makes you feel free, but all the power to you," she gaffed trying to hold her laughter.

"It isn't the fur, the feeling of the wind rushing past me, as I run faster than ever before," she sighed thinking about it.

"What are those downsides you mentioned?"

"Well, it's hard to explain but everyone in the pack can heard each other's thoughts. But it's not all your thoughts, I'm still confused by it all," she sighed and I felt concerned.

"Are you alright? Nobody is looking down on you for being a girl, or an asshole think that he can mess with you by sending some of his filthy thoughts," I felt anger well up inside me.

"No, no, no. Nothing like that," she denied, "they saw some of my thoughts and are ribbing me about it but I dish it back."

"So, are you in the gang of Sam," I asked joking about when we had made fun of the boys that gathered around Sam.

"Yeah, I even got a tattoo," she said without a hint of humor.

"I take it was a tradition to let others, namely the elders, know that you are a protector," I puzzled out.

She agreed with me and we got to talking about how she felt stronger but also hungrier. She told me about how she had cleaned out the fridge just before she had called me. She also bragged about how her muscles had become so defined and that she could beat me in a rumble.

"Maybe I'll head over there when Isabella leaves for school. Show you that your new powers don't mean I'm out yet," I teased and set up the spar for later.

"See you when I see you than."

"Yeah, by the way," I started, "I'm changing your name to Fido on my phone."

I quickly hung up before I could hear her loud complaints, and sighed at the trouble my mouth had gotten me into again. I pulled out the half full carton of eggs and set to making some breakfast for the rest of the house.

Julie POV

After a week of being part of the pack, I had earned my place as the beta. Paul still hated it and I had to put him down twice, maybe I should have taken Adam up on his offer to knock some heads. It still brought a blush to my cheeks when I thought about the night that I first shifted.

I had been so scared and confused, and when Adam had burst in, I immediately tensed up. When Sam, in his wolf form, came in, he gave a low growl and a message in my head,

 _'Calm yourself, you are safe. Listen to your alpha.'_

This was the wrong thing to say because that implied that he had some control over me, so I snapped my jaws at him. Adam gently rubbed my snout and I calmed down and felt content. With my enhance sense of smell, I engrained his manly scent into my brain. It was a mixture of earthiness and a sandalwood scent that I loved about him, but now I could smell the oil from his mechanical hand and the sweat that trickled down his slightly tanned skin.

 _'Thinking about your love machine,_ ' one of the guys teased when I didn't cover up my thoughts enough.

I gave him the finger before walking out into the cool morning air and felt a sting in my ribs. I had gotten cocky and let one of the boy claw me and it did sting but wasn't really bleeding. I got him back but still it was like a paper cut.

"So how are we going to act around our beta's main squeeze," one of the guys asked our alpha.

"He threw Embry into the ground when he was attacked," Sam began getting a kiss from his imprinted, Emily.

"I think that he could teach us some maneuvers, cause if a human can over power you guys, we need some training," that means I could invite him over.

When Sam nodded to my unasked question, I went to my truck to get my phone. I saw that I had several missed calls and messages all from Bella. When I had asked Adam to keep it a secret, he had but then Sam said no contact with her because he was cared that I could hurt her accidentally when I lost control of my form. I didn't have to worry about that with Adam because something inside me calmed down when I thought of him or heard his smoothing baritone. I wonder how I would react when I saw him for the first time since the fire with the elders.

"Should I bring any party favors," he asked when I told him some of the guys were interested in wrestling with him.

"Yeah, you probably should, they have a tendency to transform halfway through because their emotions get too high," I saw several images appear in my mind of Adam with squared shoulders, looking defiant and sexy.

I glared at the laughing members who sent me the images, and watched as Emily hit them over the head before taking their food away. They complained but I sent a relieved glance to my fellow female and finished up the conversation.

"So when is he coming," Emily asked turning her attention to me.

"He didn't really say, just later. I'm a tired so I think that I will head home for some sleep," she told me that Sam would send some of the boys over when Adam got here, so I should get some rest.

My dad gave me a wave before I collapsed in a heap on my cot, since I had broken my old bed and it still hadn't been replaced. I hoped there was some way around this gag order on Bella but knew that as an alpha, Sam had control over the actions of the entire pack.

I shrugged off my loose shirt and was left to sleep in a sports bra and pair of old shorts. They were ratty and wore but did the job when I had to change quickly. I felt the familiar call of sleep over took me as I hoped for pleasant dreams.

"You can't go in there," I heard me father say after a few minutes, and I tried to shake off the shackles of sleep that had gotten ahold of me.

I heard light but ungraceful footfalls enter my room before before I heard a sharp inhale of air before my dad's voice became slightly louder. I sniffed the air, my eyes still too sleep filled to see, and smelled a feminine scent that seemed familiar. It wasn't until I remembered how Bella was when she wanted to know something that I connected the dots fully.

"She looks like she is going to confront some of the boys," my dad whispered not fully knowing that I was mostly awake.

I heard her screaming at someone and took that as my cue to intervene. I heard a sharp snapping sound and heard some laughs from my fellow wolves. The growl that I heard, I knew that it didn't belong to a human and jumped through my window to rescue my foolish friend.

"You shouldn't have done that," Embry said and then I heard and saw Quil shift to his now rage driven wolf form.

I acted quick and ran faster than I even could a week ago, jumped over Bella's head while shifting to my slightly bulky wolf form. I snarled at Quil and tried stand in front of Bella so that I could protect her. Quil's mind was a swirl of emotions that didn't fully accept my thoughts that Bella wasn't a threat.

Deciding that the only way to get him to see sense was to beat it into him, I lunged at his growling, hunched up body and forced him to defend himself from his beta. Our teeth were bare as we battled for dominance. He kicked me with his hind-legs, and I pulled his body in a way that sent the both of us tumbling into dense woods, cutting us off from the eyes of our audience.

 _'Take her to Sam's,_ ' I told the remaining two pack mates.

Throwing his heavy body off of me, I stood firmly and gnashed my teeth furiously at him. I blurred forward his wary body and knocked him into the tree behind him. He grunted and lowered his head in submission as I felt him apologize through the pack bond.

 _'You will apologize to Bella when we get to Sam's,'_ he nodded his head shamefully.

To pick up his mood after losing control like that, I mentally said _, 'Race you,'_ and took off weaving between the trees.

The wind blew gently against my fur and I heard a few crashes behind me signaling that Quil had joined me in a race. It was only when we were about a mile away from the hangout that I realized two things: one, Sam had said that he would send the boys over when Adam had arrived, and two, my clothes had been torn up when I had rushed in to protect Bella.

I continued running, however, because my competitive spirit refused to lose in anything. I wouldn't let something like being embarrass stop me from winning. So I ran into the clear and stopped feeling only slightly winded. Quil came up behind me and barked out a wolf-ish laugh that made me knock him down.

Stepping into the back room, after getting the ok from Emily, I shifted back into my human form and put on my set of spare clothes that I left here in case something like this happened. Leaning my head against the wall, I heard the back end of a conversation between Emily and Adam,

"-she has been accepted fully."

"Yes, but I can't help but notice your scars," he really has no tact at all.

"And I worry that she could be hurt in some way," his words made my chest burn slightly.

Rather than be offended, Emily laughed at his frankness, but I knew that Sam would have either attacked him for his rudeness or apologized for his wrongdoing to Emily.

"She is a bit tougher than I am, and she has already cemented her position at the top," there was a slight creak of a chair and I heard that Adam's voice from the outside door.

"Well, I have to show those kids that just because they have size doesn't mean I'm going to shy away from a beat down," he said gruffly.

"Give me a shout if she shows up and wants to tumble. And I'm sorry Isabella about keeping a friend's secret."

I opened the door a crack and saw that Bella was sitting at the table and nibbling on one of Emily's fresh muffins. She was listening to two of the pack tell her about how there was no privacy. When she saw me, she stood up and punched me in the face. This was a mistake because she cradled her wrist in pain and grunted slightly.

"You are an idiot," I chided looking at the self-inflicted damage.

"Who punches a werewolf in the face?"

She still looked angry but her face relaxed a little at my joke.

"I didn't know what had happened to you, and I couldn't bare to lose another friend," her voice quivered slightly.

I gave her a reassuring smile and she weakly returned it. I would have done more to make her understand that I wouldn't do this unless it was necessary, but a loud growl followed by pained yip was heard by everyone.

Sam, Bella, Emily, and I rushed out to see what had happened, and were surprised. Adam was standing over one of the omegas with a smoking/steaming axe in his hand. The omega was in wolf form, which should have given him an advantage, and you could see a large area of burned fur and in the middle of it was a deep cut. It smelled of burnt flesh and I connected the dots and Sam got the majority of it.

When my eyes connected with Adam's deep, brown eyes, I saw myself aging alongside him and us in a happy life. I told a few steps towards him and I absently noted that Sam grunted in acceptance. I fell to my knees in front of him and bowed my head in submission, and I felt my inner wolf bow down to him as well. I had found him, my one. My only. My Imprinted.

Adam POV

After watching Julie fall to her knees when she made eye contact with me, I felt more deeply connected to her than before and wanted to protect her. I moved to grab her shoulders in an attempt to hoist her to her feet.

I was stopped by Sam, and I heard a growl from not just from me but also Julie. He sent her a warning glance and she looked downcast. He then fixed me with an appraising look, searching for something. His eyes fell to my cooling axe and I saw his eyes go wide in shock. He stepped closer to me and didn't hide his anger or discomfort.

"Do you know how to read those characters on your axe," he shouted getting the attention of everyone in the area.

"Yeah, it is an old runic dialect that has been nearly forgotten. I was taught it when I was young," I answered not fully understanding his frantic tone.

He began to pace slightly and shake his head in an argumentative way. He seemed to be fighting a battle over something, he would often glance at the string of runes that were carved into the axe head.

"Dear," Emily asked, "what is the significance of those characters?"

"Those symbols are in the same language as the original shifters' book, those ones in particular are on the front of the book," he then looked at me.

"What do they mean?"

"They translate to 'By Fire and Steel shall evil be smote'," I explained pointing to the runes.

"And the others," he asked.

"They have been something that I have always carved on my weapons. It means 'Bear' roughly."

He took this in and then walked over to the phone that was hanging on the wall. I didn't hear the conversation all that well, it was rushed and heated, but I could tell that he was informing someone about the fact that I knew the language that they had never answered. After a few minutes of tense conversation, he turned back to me.

"The elders have given you special permission to view the book and axe," he spoke heavily.

"You can go to the same place that you heard the origins of the tribe. I want you know that this privilege has never been given to any outsider."

I nodded my understand at the gravity of the situation and gathered my scattered belongings. My shirt was scuffed but not too damaged so I was happy. I had my trusty boots that had been with me for awhile, my axe which gained me the honor, and my mechanical hand cover.

"You can take Julie with you," Sam said giving her a pointed look.

She agreed to go with me and clambered into the passenger side and nodded her head that she was ready to leave to solve this mystery. She was silent and her eyes darted over to look at me. I could tell that she was thinking deeply about something because she was biting her lower lip.

Deciding to end the awkward silence, I asked a question.

"So, do you know what you are going to do when you graduate?"

I felt like kicking myself for asking such a vague and down right stupid question. Alice was the one who always chattered and started the conversation. Huh, her name doesn't seem to hurt or cause as much anger as before. Maybe I'm recovering.

"You never were the best conversationist," she laughed and the awkwardness was gone.

We chatted and teased each other about trivial things and when we got to the topic of the language that only I could read, she got very interested in my schooling of it.

"So who taught you?"

"I have many things about my past that I would rather stay there," I said not feel comfortable anymore.

Sensing my discomfort, Julie shifted the conversation over to something that confused me. She started talking about how the Cullen's would return every sixty or seventy years to take up their old life but with newer identities. I shook off her burning anger that reflected mine, and tried to think of my old lessons in the runes. Given enough time, I could probably translate the entire book into English and hopefully the elders could grant me a favor that I could cash in later.

"I don't think that you will want to go in. It will mainly just be me reading and translating to see if this fills in any blanks," she said that she was going in anyway and would follow me.

The elders had pulled out a table and laying in the center was a heavy, leather bound book. The pages were slightly yellow from aging and I spied the runes that covered my axe on the front cover. I was glared at and I heard a few of them mutter about their ancestors pride.

Opening the book carefully, I looked at the first page and read aloud the ink,

"Ok let's see '...together with our brethren, the bears and the pigs. The blood demons shall be driven from our area' no that last word is land and pigs could mean boars. The words are too similar."

"Do you realize what this book really is," I asked them, getting shakes of the head.

"This appears to be a book about how these three clans, if you will, banded together to drive out the blood demons. This is literally the book about vampire slayers from ancient times," I said flipping through pages faster.

See their shocked expressions, I continued to translate the incredible manual about fighting vampires.

"The book has different handwriting in sections meaning that different people wrote in this over the years. It talks about victories and loses equally in here," as I got to the end, I slowed down.

"The Boar Clan, is described as being able to heal from any injury over night. The Bear Clan is said to be a walk calamity, death incarnate."

"But what happened to these clans," Billy asked leaning forward.

"It talks about how the vampires started to ambush and massacre entire families just to wipe out the bloodlines. It mainly talks about the wolf clan and how the bear clan was isolated so nothing much is said about them," I paused to look over the final page of writing.

"This is the last entry, 'We have escaped across the Great Sea to the land that was rumored to be barren. We set out fifty strong and now only my sister is beside me. I hope that the tribe of natives we saved can help us in return.'"

All was silent for a few minutes as they took in the fact that the warriors had fled a dying Europe, most likely, and tried to settle in peace. When I asked to see the axe, I wasn't even questioned or scorned. I felt the respect for me rise as I was handed the carefully cared for axe.

It's shape shook me to the core. It was nearly identical to the axe that I had made from the teachings of my family. It had a longer blade and the eye was skinnier than mine, but on closer examination, I smelled dried oil that could be used the same way as mine.

This brought up memories of when I made mine, and I felt some more pieces fall into place. I put down the axe and stood away from the table. The elders were chatting between themselves when I caught their attention.

"What's wrong?"

"I have too many questions and I know a possible place where I could find further information," I said walking over to the exit.

"Where is this place," I glared at the person who asked this question and walked out.

Julie followed after me and I fished around in my pockets for the keys to her truck. I didn't even have to ask about borrowing it, Julie just seemed to know because she said that it was fine. I pulled her into a hug and asked her something to help me out.

"Watch over Isabella for me," I said as I released her from my arms.

"Where are you going," she asked.

"A place that I swore never to return to," she hugged me tightly.

"Where's that?"

"Home," I said shortly.

"I need to tell you something when you get back," and with that I got into the borrowed truck and sped away, my destination focused.

I needed answers and there was only one place where they would be. A place that I had been running from for years. It was time to return home.

 **THIS IS THE LONGEST CHAPTER THAT I HAVE WRITTEN THAT ISN'T FOR ANOTHER REASON. THE STORY ELEMENT IS BEGINNING TO SHIFT AND I HOPE THAT I DON'T TELEGRAPH THE STORY. SO PLEASE, REVIEW AND RECOMMEND THIS STORY TO OTHER PEOPLE. READ, REVIEW, AND ENJOY.**

 **Translations**

 **You are a coward that can't even fight for your chosen!: Du er en fei som ikke engang kan kjempe for din valgte!**

 **Claim our wolf: Hevder vår Ulv.**

 **Show our angel who belongs to: Vis vår Engel som hun tilhørwr**

 **I will not be contained any longer. Not if you were fused to claim what is ours: Jeg vil ikke bli lenger lenger. Ikke hvis du nekter å kreve hva som er vår.**

 **Claim what is ours: Gjør krav på hva som er vårt**

 **Ghost Operation Systems signing out.**


	11. Discovering a Lost History

**I'M BACK AND THIS WILL BE A SHORTER CHAPTER DUE TO IT MAINLY BEING AN EXPLANATION ABOUT MY LORE, SORRY. AGAIN I DON'T OWN THE TWILIGHT FRANCHISE I AM JUST USING THEIR STORY AND TWISTING IT TO MY DESIRES. SO READ AND ENJOY.**

 **STORY START.**

Chapter 11: Discovering a Lost History

Alice POV

Looking at the beautiful buildings outside the glass window, I tried to block the sadness that stemmed from thoughts of my love. I had left Adam behind in Forks without any warning, and it had only caused me heartache and pain. I had written a letter to him and had Edward make sure he read it but it still made me uneasy that he hadn't contacted me.

Maybe he was angrier than I had thought he would be. Because I couldn't see him clearly, I couldn't check up on him like I did the rest of my family and Bella. I knew the reason behind Edward's wanting to leave but it still didn't make the longing to talk and laugh with her lessen.

One of the store attendants walked up behind me asked a question,

"Aurez-vous besoin de quelque chose d'autre?"

I shook my head and picked up my lone bag that was only two-thirds of the way full. I didn't really pay attention as the cashier totaled my purchases and then asked for the money.

"Merci pour votre parrainage," the lady gave a wide smile that I could tell was fake.

I thanked her as well and gently pushed the doors open and I walked out into the streets of Paris. People walked and talked with enthusiasm, many different languages mixing and falling dead on my vampiric senses. I heard a couple chat about the beauty of Paris, an old man who was talking on his phone about market prices, and I even heard a woman scolding her child about falling into the street.

I hadn't had very many visions today but then again, I was on vacation and didn't even have my drawing supplies. When I got to the building that was the penthouse that Jasper and I were staying in, I checked to make sure that the back alley was clear so I could jump up to balcony. It was clear so I jumped and landed softly.

"Usually you take a lot longer with your shopping," Jasper said from his place on the couch.

"I didn't find anything good," I said moving past the doorway.

Jasper was wear a gray button down shirt and a pair of black slacks. Overall, if you caught a glance at him on the streets, you would assume that he was an desk guy for a insurance firm. His sleeves were rolled up past his elbows and in his hand was a paintbrush. The half finished portrait in front him was of his mother. Her blonde hair and smooth cheekbones looked very similar to what Jasper had, but I could tell that the majority of his features came from his father, whom he had already painted and hung on the wall.

"That's strange," he said before I closed the door and feel forward onto the soft bed.

I looked over to my bedside table and saw the braided bracelet that Adam had made me. I didn't wear it because when I did, I felt a heartache that only Adam could soothe. I clutched the dark leather to my chest and wondered how Adam was doing.

Adam POV

I was feeling completely miserable. It was a mixture of anxiety, depression, and curiosity all rolled up into one. The drive to the Canadian border was about two hours and I stopped to fill up the tank once before continuing to the reclusive town that I had grown up near. If I remember correctly, the town only had a population of three-hundred or so and the people were all friends. Reaching the town, I drove through it without a second glance and made my way up to the mountains.

The small road was tricky to navigate with the old truck, but as long I watched out for down trees or old rock slides, I made the difficult track passable. I could tell that I was getting closer to the place where I had grown up because I saw familiar areas of woods that I often hid in from my father and mother as a game.

When the dirt and stone road turned into crushed gravel, I slowed down, trying to convince myself that I was just going to go in, get what I need, and leave. When I saw the destruction that was surrounding a caved in house, I began to hear flashes of the past, loud booms and the cries of surprise. Trees half burnt and many of them were broken down halfway down the trunk.

"This was a mistake," I said shutting off the engine.

The first step was made with hesitation and my breath caught in my throat. After my boot covered heel connected with the ground, I released that breath and began to trudge to the broken house. The house looked the same, as it had when I left, with only a little wear from the elements.

My father definitely had built it to last, I thought with a poor attempt to stop my growing anxiety. Only some of the living room and portions of the dining room were even damaged. No animals nested and I saw no muddy tracks. It was surreal to walk through the same house that I had left nearly seven years ago. When I came to the locked door that had been my father's private study, I used my axe to break the doorknob clean off.

The musky air showed the years of neglect as did the thick layers of dust that settled on every surface. Each step that I took caused my eyes to water slightly but I forged onward and looked for a familiar book that I knew was in this room. When I got to the book shelf, I saw that there wasn't just one roughly bound leather book but two. So I took both of the tomes and set them on the polished oak desk. The first tome that I opened was the slightly bigger and older looking one.

"The Berserker Clans," I read the title aloud.

The book was just like the one that the Quileute Elders had shown me, except it spoke more about the Bear Clan and it was more in-depth. It went like this; the first known berserker was a man called Bjørnir who later became the first leader of the Bear Clan. He had the power to fall into a rage that could be controlled only by the chief/himself and he passed this onto his children. The entire need for the berserker clans was because vampires were gaining too much territory and they would kill the entire world if someone didn't step in and stop them.

So the Berserker Clans of the ancient legends were breed. The Wolf Clan had the power to shift into giant beast forms and could move at speeds on par with a vampire's. The Boar Clan could regenerate and heal wounds that would cripple another man, like when one of the chief's lost his arm in a battle, it regrew in a single night. However this regeneration made them increasingly difficult to deal with according to the third chief.

This regeneration made them think that they were immortal and they grew arrogant to the degree that they thought that they wouldn't need help to defeat the rising numbers of vampires. This was only one of the problems that they caused. They also began to pillage nearly villages and extort them for all of their money. As the protectors and warriors against the vampires, this behavior was appalling and unacceptable.

The Bear Clan decided to go into isolation after the majority of vampire were killed. The Wolf Clan roamed the wilds hunting vampires as much as possible. The Boar Clan continued to be a stain on the berserker name. One day, however, something shifted the power. Vampires had been leaderless and lived in small groups, but now, they united against the Berserkers.

The Boar Clan was destroyed first. The vampires didn't even have to look hard and it only took a few moon cycles to completely wipe out the corrupt ones. The people of the territory began to worship the vampires and began to hunt berserkers to appease their false gods. The Wolf Clan was too honorable to attack the humans, so they retreated and were gradually picked off.

Only a few survived but they fled and disappeared from the world. Now, I thought, I understand why the twin siblings fled Europe and went to the America's. The Bear Clan was the last one to be attacked due to their isolation in the mountains. I flipped past many dozens for pages to see what happened and skipped the small skirmishes and victories. I got to a section that I didn't have to translate from runic because it was written in English.

It was written by my father! He had penned this shortly after fleeing Europe with my mother and I. It had tear stains in areas but it explained how the last fortress was destroyed when his father was just a boy and he and his family lived on the run. When my father met his future wife, it was to save her from being devoured by vampires. He spoke deeply about how his berserker was calmed and it could never hurt her in any way.

Luckily he skipped the intimate part of my parents relationship, I don't think that I could stomach that, he wrote about the feeling of pride that swelled inside when I was born. As a post script, he wrote that mom had threatened to castrate him no less than twenty times when she was in labor. He drew diagrams of the house and I saw that there was a basement that I had never know to exist.

Reading more deeply, I saw that there was only one page left and it was a letter directly addressing me.

 _Dear Adam,_

 _I know that by the time you are reading this, I will be_

 _dead and your mother will most likely joined me in my_

 _grave. I want to you know that I love you and nothing_

 _could ever change that fact. I'm writing this message_

 _to you because recently there has been sightings of_

 _pale people who avoid the sunlight. It means that my_

 _past has come to hunt my precious family._

 _Now that you are the last living member of the Bear_

 _Clan, I want you to learn and grow more as a person._

 _The chief is not just a strong warrior who puts the other_

 _berserkers in their place, he is also the wise leader who_

 _knows not to fight at every opportunity. I implore you_

 _to read and learn form the mistakes of your predecessors._

 _If your anything like your mother you skipped the majority_

 _of the history._

 _The basement is where I hide some treasures of our clan_

 _that were smuggled out of Europe. They will help you in_

 _your struggle to survive in this world. If you read this book_

 _first, you need to understand that the other book is filled_

 _with the traditions and rituals that I would like for you to_

 _continue on to the next generation._

 _Your proud Father,_

 _Uren Bjørnir_

I felt tears fill my eyes as I read the last message my father gave me. I decided to read the other tome when there was more light. The sun had set fully and I could barely see the truck as I got in and laid across cracked seats. My eyes drifted close but snapped open when the sunlight hit them. It was morning already and I didn't feel very rested. It was too sudden and I felt my back protest as I got up and went to the place where my father had indicated the basement entrance was.

The "door", if it could even be called that, was a boulder that was apart of the foundation and I had to break the cement seal to even budge it. When the boulder was finally moved, I peered into the inky blackness and breathed in the oil soaked air. This smell wasn't the oil that was used for cars, no this was a deeper and richer smell. I flipped open my phone and the dim light illuminated a few feet in front of me. I walked down the steps with no small amount of caution because I didn't know what treasures my father spoke of in his letter.

The basement was massive from what I could see. It was easily the size of the entire house without any of the inner walls, and I could make out the vague shapes of some furniture like tables and chairs. I made sure not to knock anything over but eventually I found the table. On the table was a box of matches, a stack of papers, and a candle or two. I opened the matchbox and saw that it was half full, so I struck a match and lit the candle to allow for a brighter light than what my phone could make.

After placing the candle back on the table, I ran up the stairs and gathered all the other candles in the house. Overall, I gather twenty-six, and they lit up the basement to the point where I only had to squint my eyes in the beginning. On my right was a fully outfitted forge, it had two differently sized anvils, a wall rack that was filled with tools, a furnace/Kiln that had a blocked off chimney, there was even a pedal-powered grindstone. There was a pallet that had fifty pound bags of charcoal stacked up to my neck. This at least a half a ton!

On the other side of the room were the "treasures" that my father had mentioned. As it turns out, they were eighteen weapons that were outlandish and strange: axes that had holes bored in them, swords that had canisters on the blade flat, and clubs that had more teeth than a shark. Each one was hanging on the wall and had a name plaque on their raised base, I read a few of them. They had names and titles that were worthy of their appearance. Some of their titles were really attention grabbing like Head-Splitter, Armor-Cleaver, and Thunder-Hammer.

The desk that I had stumbled over to was more towards the left side of the room in the middle. It had weapon designs and other notes that I could barely follow. When my stomach growled, I left the basement and rifled through the glove compartments in Julie's truck. I found Billy's stash of jerky, and munched on the well-seasoned meat. It wasn't much but I didn't have time to hunt or forage so it was good enough.

"So mom was the brains of the family," I said as I glanced down at her carefully written notes on making Oil Orbs.

The circular holes in most of the weapons, as it turns out, when filled with large glass beads that were hollowed out and filled with oil. The glass would break, then the oil would coat the blade, and then the wielded would spark the oil to create a burning weapon. Apparently, burning weapons were the preferred weapon for the berserkers because the stopped the vampire from regenerating for awhile.

Mom have developed a method to make oil harden on the outside leaving the interior liquid, and it could also be more easily broken in the midst of battle. She mixed in magnesium powder that would be ignited when it was exposed to the air. She had left me the instructions on how to make them and the ingredients were in clearly labeled jars under the table. I decided to make some and store them in a hip pouch. This would be easier than having to get Acetylene or propane from unreliable sources.

Seeing that I didn't have much else to do, I wrote down the names of the chiefs on the weapon plaques and went to the Book of Chiefs, as my father had named it. I did this to see what the history behind each weapon was and ways of wielding each one with their respective style. The large battle axe that belonged to the ninth chief looked more my style.

As I glanced at the destruction around me, I felt my memories being more forceful in their attempts to resurface. When I saw a blood splatter on the wall, I couldn't stop them anymore.

 _{Flashback}_

 _I was walking back home after picking some wild berries for desert. Dad had been tense and looking around at the trees all week. Mom had been making me wear shoes more often when I went outside. She knew that I hated to do that._

 _When I got back, I opened the front door and put the berries in a dish before placing the dish on the kitchen table. I saw that dad was working in his study and mom was cooking dinner for tonight. I went to my room and grabbed by birthday rite of passage. It was a small axe that I had made on my twelfth birthday, a week ago, it wasn't very sharp but I was going to change that today._

 _I picked up my wet stone and began to rasp it over the blade to sharpen it. I heard mom humming her favorite songs and I also heard dad join in with his deep soothing voice. It was amazing to hear their voices blend and mix into what I could only describe as a perfect duo._

 _"Hey, Adam," mom called out to me._

 _"What," I yelled put down my axe._

 _"I need you to try this combination," she said and I heard dad complain._

 _"What about me honey?"_

 _"You had two years before my darling was born," she said scolding him._

 _"What happened to me being your darling," he asked._

 _"That ended when Adam was born, you became my snuggle-bear," I felt my stomach churn at their pet names for each other._

 _I went out and tried her newest combination of seasonings, it was sweet and salty but I still liked when she cooked any type of venison. She said that dinner was ready and went to get dad from his study. I sat at the table and heard a soft pounding before the front entrance exploded._

 _I let out a yelp of pain and fear as I was blown out of my chair. My eyes were filled dark spots before they cleared up. I heard the sounds of grinding metal and shouts of pain. When I opened my eyes, I saw dad was standing tall, swinging his large axe, and bellowing in rage against the attackers. Mom was wielding two massive kitchen knives and was fending off their attackers as she tried to come closer to me._

 _I got to my feet as I saw my mom get her side slashed by the attackers. I felt my arms and legs begin to grow in strength but the power faded to fast for me to do anything but stand. I heard my dad yell about killing all vampires who threatened his family. I wanted to do something but couldn't, my body would respond to my calls. A booming voice filled my head and I felt my eyes tear up from the pain that this loud voice was causing._

 _ **"Du vet ikke hvordan du skal bruke strømmen din. La meg vise deg!"** the blackness fully covered my vision._

 _When I regained my sight, I saw the house was even more destroyed and then I saw it. Mom and dad were laying on their fronts with circles of blood spreading out underneath them. It didn't even fully register that limbs of the vampire were scattered around me. I looked down at my bloodstained hands in horror of what I had done._

 _I didn't even have any memories of doing it, but I could connect the dots. I had killed my parents. I was a monster. I had to leave, I would hunt vampires until I die. Either from old age or getting killed by my prey. My knees began to weaken, and I could only stumble forward as I lost my vision slowly before I collapsed._

 _{End Flashback}_

When I had blacked out the first time, it was the same as when I had destroyed the tracker. I now knew that it was my inner berserker, he was the one who mocked me in my dreams. That was something that I needed to change, in the Book of Chiefs, it explained that the chief could control the inner berserker. To control my inner beast, not matter how much I hated it, I would have to claim my birthright. I am the last member of the Bear Clan, I will become the Bear Chief.

 **THIS IS THE END OF CHAPTER 11. IT WAS SHORTER BUT NOT TOO SHORT I HOPE. I'LL TRY TO POST THE NEXT CHAPTER IN A WEEK, BUT I HAVE SOME MAJOR TESTS COMING UP. I WOULD LIKE MORE PEOPLE TO REVIEW. PLEASE I WANT SOME READER FEEDBACK. UNTIL NEXT TIME, READ, REVIEW, AND ENJOY.**

 **Translations**

 **Will you be needing anything else?: Aurez-vous besoin de quelque chose d'autre?**

 **Thank you for your patronage: Merci pour votre parrainage**

 **You don't know how to use your power. Let me show you: Du vet ikke hvordan du skal bruke strømmen din. La meg vise deg.**

 **Ghost Operation Systems signing out.**


	12. Upgraded Arsenal

**HEY. IT'S BEEN A WEEK AND I'M BACK FOR ANOTHER CHAPTER. FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO ARE ACTUALLY READING MY NOTES BEFOREHAND, I FIRST WANT TO THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONTINUED SUPPORT AND SECONDLY I WANT TO CLARIFY SOMETHING. I WROTE THIS CHAPTER UNDERNEATH A MOUNTAIN OF PRESSURE BUT IN THE END I THINK IT TURNED OUT.**

 **DxGRAYxMAN-Thanks for your reviews, they brighten my day. I make my own DD campaigns, so it helps me craft tales and lore in my head.**

 **AGAIN, I DON'T OWN THE TWILIGHT FRANCHISE. I ONLY OWN MY IDEAS AND CHANGES. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE REVIEW THIS STORY. SO WITH THAT OUT OF THE WAY, STORY START.**

Chapter 12: Upgraded Arsenal

Adam POV

I started the long process of becoming a chief by reading through the second tome that was about the rituals of the Bear Clan. I skipped the parts that weren't needed, like courting lovers, weddings, and funerals. When I got to the middle of the tome, the top of the page was clearly marked "Chieftainship". It had the basic rules of being a chief, the basic duties, and finally the process of becoming one.

For the new chief to be selected, not only must the previous chief die, but they must also proclaim their replacement to the clan in a Will or before a witness. My father had done this when he asked me to become the best chief I could, and since I was the last the Clan, I had been his witness, so that was one part down. The other requirement was to make a burning weapon on your twelfth year that would become your chief weapon. Underneath this passage was several dozen lines, most of which were filled with names of people and their weapons.

The last chief was my father and he was the twentieth chief recorded. I looked down at the list that I copied for the plaques in the basement and saw that two of the names were not on there. My father's name, for obvious reasons, the large burning axe that I had destroyed to kill the tracker had been his and I had taken it when I had fled home. The other was the first chief's name, Bjørnir, and his Morning Sun Hammer. Switching books, I flipped through the history tome before I came to the part when the second chief was chosen.

Reading the small passage, I found out that the massive hammer had been buried with its wielder so that he could be ready to defend himself even in the after life. I didn't need to dwell on this topic for much longer, so I went back to reading about the requirements that I would still need to complete.

"I have already completed the first two, now I need to..." I trailed off reading the rest of the page.

"Shave my head!"

It was a shock but reading more into it, it made a little more sense, the third chief had long braided hair and in one battle, his hair got caught by vampires and he nearly got killed. He shaved his head and soon after that, it became a tradition for the chief to shave his head. I could find something to shave my head. I think I remember a pair of shears somewhere in the house that I could use.

The next condition would be the hardest, I had to show my dedication and determination by being branded in the shape of a Bear paw. It could go anywhere on my body, as long as it was visible when I was in public. The reason that this was the hardest was because I would need to make the branding iron from scratch. I would also need to get better weapons. Knowing that the chiefs of the past would understand my need, I began to think of which weapons to modify for my use. I would be taking all the weapons back with me to Forks because I doubt that I would be returning to my childhood home.

"I think that the Head-Splitter and the Bone-Crusher will be the best options," I said going down to the basement.

"The ninth Chief was known for his brutal nature of dealing with his enemies, but he was also the chief to only be in power for such a short period of time," I read entering the dark room.

"He wielded his broad axe and often needed to have his brother beside him when fighting. The brother later became the tenth chief," I decided when I gazed upon the weapons that these were the ones that I would wield.

It would be perfect because these weapons were made to be used together, by one person or two, it didn't matter. The broad axe had a flattened, double-sided spike on the backside and a very long length of cutting surface on it's angular head. The weapon of the tenth chief was a mace that was referred to as a ziggurat mace because of it's strange stacked appearance. It had a raised metal diamond on each of its eight faces that could shatter bones and stone with a single swing.

I began to labor at the desk, drawing redesigns and finding ways to correct certain things to make the pair of weapons better suited for me. For the giant axe, I would have to shorten the handle by about a foot and add a solid cylinder to the butt to provide balance for swinging the large axe. I would also have to grind most of the girth of the axe head off. It was nearly an inch at the thickest, and that was entirely too much weight. The ziggurat mace wouldn't have to be changed very much, I would just need to remove the rust and grime from years of being held in a damp, sunless room. I would re-harden both weapons in the forge and reshape the axehead to get more surface area for damage.

I lit the forge with some gas that I took for the truck. I shoveled piles of coal onto the fire to get it glowing white before I could even rework the weapons. The bellows took nearly my entire body weight to use them to their full power. I removed the wooden handles and noticed how the wood was still very strong and didn't show any signs of rotting or weakness. Dismissing this as a quirk of the ancient polish used, I continued to prepare the weapons.

All the iron nails that held the weapon heads in place were heavily rust and would have to be replaced by some new steel ones. The axe was the first one to be placed on the bed of hot coals. It was nearly too large but I could pick it up using my stocky arms. My left hand would became an important asset because it didn't transfer the burning sensation from the heat, so I could work with higher temperatures longer.

I was dressed in my boots, a stiff leather apron that had been near the desk, and thick pants. I had taken off my borrowed shirt from Charlie because I was drenched in sweat from the forge's high temperatures. I would occasionally have to flick a cooling ember off my bare arms after the fire had spat it at me. I knew that it would take a long time before the axe was glowing white and ready to be reformed, so in the meantime, I busied myself with finding the pair of shears I had remembered.

I couldn't find any trace of it in the kitchen or the tool shed. It was maddening to know that it was here somewhere, but I couldn't find it. I returned to the basement after looking for an hour. I saw that the head was glowing just the way that I wanted and I used the tongs to lift it from the bed of coals. I began to hammer on the softened edge to draw it out to the new desired length.

Once that was done, I was going to be grinding a lot of material off, so that I would change the heavy axe to a lighter and sharper chopping weapon. It took about two or three attempts before I had gotten the shape that I was happy with. I laid it on the anvil and let it slowly cool. I ran a rasp along the edge and found that the metal was now soft enough to grind the excess material off.

I stood at the grindstone a good ten minutes before I understood how to operate it correctly and with minimal effort. So with the coarse stone wheel whirring and spinning, I began to grind the large axe. I ground off the layer of scale and other bad materials first. That took only a few minutes to do the top layer, but when it came time to grind away the majority of the bulk, it took hours. When I was mostly finished with the grind, I set the axe down and straightened my hunched back.

"I haven't even finished this yet," I said after listening to my back pop in multiple places.

"It will take nearly all of tomorrow to finish up the axe. I need to create new fittings, cut the handle down to size and find the counterbalance material," I listed off feeling the daunting task ahead of me growing slightly smaller.

"Even if I finish the axe tomorrow, I have to fix up the mace, shave my head, get the chieftain brand, and maybe create some Oil Orbs if I have time."

I sighed before taking a bite from the jerky in front of me. My food supply would be gone in by tomorrow at this rate, so I leaned back and checked my phone. It had no signal in these remote mountains, so I couldn't call Julie and talk to her about how things in Forks was going.

I still felt drawn to her and I didn't fully know why. She had been there for me when I was venting my anger and grief. She never said a word, she only put a comforting hand on my shoulder. That was all I needed. I was comforted by her company even though most of our conversations were trading barbs and making bad jokes. Even her wolf form didn't scared me or repulse me, if anything it pulled me in further, the thought that she wasn't a damsel in distress and could fight her own fights.

My mind flashed over to an image of Alice when she was laughing at something I had done, my heart however, wasn't filled with anger or disgust. No, my heart felt heavy and longed for a reason why, or some kind of justification. I dug my fingernails into my palm and rid myself of these thoughts. I had a lot of work to do and I didn't have time to be pining after a girl who had left me. The saying 'So Much to do, so Little Time' applied perfectly in this situation.

 _~Time Skip: Three Days~_

I put down the completed pair of deadly weapons and felt pride well up inside of me. I had finished the axe about three hours before sunset my third day here, and I felt it was time to get a daunting task/goal over with. I was now completely bald and it was an experience that was difficult to say the least.

I had found an old pair of gardening shears that I cleaned and sharpened. I used an old broken mirror to see as I cut my coarse hair. It was a slow process that had me nearly screaming in rage, but I had cut all my hair and left behind a black, slightly uneven stubble. So next, I made a truck oil, crushed charcoal, and snow slurry that I spread over my scratchy scalp. I used a sharpened hunk of scrap metal as a crude razor and began to scrap it against the gel-like mixture.

My head was completely smooth and no stubble grew back in the days since, so I thought that maybe this would be a once a month thing. In my spare time, waiting for the metals to heat up, I had also finished working on the brand. It was not as difficult to make as I had thought previously, the scorch marks on a plank of wood was proof that the Bear paw was clean and looked prepared.

I, amid all the forge work, was getting ready to leave the house and lock everything, that I wasn't taking, away. I had packed the chief weapons and put them in the bed of the truck. I wrapped the sharp and pointy areas up so that they didn't attract too much attention. I cleaned my body on the sweat, soot, and other grime that had accumulated over time in a stream nearby, it was cold and I had nearly jumped out when I was wading in slowly.

"I have to do this," I said to reassure myself before I branded my shoulder.

The brand was in the fire and was glowing bright white. I picked it up with my left hand and put the handle on the stand that I had constructed so that I could do it without any outside help. It hissed in the open air and was losing its bright glow gradually. I breathed in a deep breath and stepped to the side as I pressed my muscular arm into the hot iron.

Searing pain lanced through my entire body, I fell to my knees with my vision becoming murky. I looked at the blistering flesh on my arm and saw that it wasn't enough, the brand wasn't deep enough to fully scar. I grabbed the chair back and hoisted my body up. The pain was growing and it made me cry out in agony. I steadied myself and looked at the now red brand. I was short of breath but I still carefully pushed myself into the brand. It pushed deeply into the first one and lined up perfectly. I stood there for as long as I could before I felt my consciousness fleeing me. With the last of my strength, I turned myself on my none burned shoulder in the middle of the concrete floor.

Julie POV

I was lazing around in my wolf form, thinking about Adam and how I had imprinted on him. The others in the pack had taken to avoiding me whenever my thoughts turned Adam, which was often. I wanted to be near him and protect him from everything, but I knew that that would only piss him off. Sam had been sympathetic to my case because he understood how it felt to be away from Emily for long hunts or patrols.

Adam didn't even know about the connection that we now shared. I did fear how he would react once he found out. I had frequent nightmares about how he would rage and tell me that I wasn't for him. These dreams woke me up gasping for breath but I calmed down knowing that Adam was my friend and while he was rough around the edges, he was a caring person who liked to live his life the way he wanted.

"How does it feel to be bonded," Embry asked curiously.

"It feels like I am complete. I feel content and also I know that I will protect him from anything that could hurt him," my conviction was strong and unshakable.

"It must be nice not having to look for dates," he said before he walked away.

"Is he giving you too much trouble," Emily asked me when she saw me sitting and thinking.

"No, it's just...I think that some of the guys are resentful that I found my one," I said feeling unsure about my situation.

Emily had been nice to me, she understood some of the hardships of being a woman in a nearly all male pack. She was the den mother of the entire pack and was our beacon of warmth for when we had doubts about our humanity. She would remind us intentionally and unintentionally of what we were protecting and that kept us grounded.

"Personal, I think that they are just not used to feeling the new bond second hand through you and are don't know what to do," she passed over one of the apples that were sitting in a dish on the table.

"I just hope that he accepts me. How should I explain it? Should I just use the 'It's a wolf thing method'," I took a bite of the apple and took to thinking.

' _There is a leech in the meadow,'_ one of the patrols yelled.

"I have to go. There is a leech down near our border," I said before running to the back room and practically tearing my clothes off.

This was exciting, our first ever leech hunt and I could feel the excitement of the pack through the bond. Sam was determined but had some doubt that he hid well.

' _There is another scent near,'_ thepatrolsaid _, 'It's human!'_

What kind of person would be stupid enough to be in the wilderness alone without any guides. If it were someone from the Reservation, they would have known that we had been scenting vampires in the area. We had reported to the elders, and they indirectly told their families and friends not to go out alone.

Suddenly I felt pain flash in my head and knew instinctively that it was Adam and he had done something stupid again. The wolf inside me howled and raged to break free and find my imprint to save him from his stubbornness. I restrained myself at the last second and knew that even if I transformed, I probably couldn't find him in time, so I clenched my jaw and hoped he was going to be fine.

Adam POV

I regained my senses and was waiting for the pain to come shooting through my arm, but it never did. Opening my eyes, I saw that I was still on my right side on the basement floor. I sat up at the waist and gingerly brought my hand to the stiff shoulder, and felt the imprinted paw and all of its painful glory. I rolled my shoulder back waiting for the agony that had driven me to unconsciousness, but it never came. I hoisted myself off the cool stone and stood.

It felt surreal, I had just completed the final task to becoming a chief of the Bear Clan and now I could control my berserker, or could I? I needed to test to see if I could enter my berserker state at will and remain in control. I went out into the woods so that I wouldn't damage anything if I lashed out.

"Let's get this over with," I closed my eyes and dug deep within.

At first I couldn't find anything, and I felt foolish because I didn't even know if what I was doing was correct. I tensed up my body and clenched my forearms to the point that veins were popping. I released a frustrated sigh and opened my eyes fully.

"Why are you ignoring me now?" I asked the air.

"You were so adamant that you could not be forced down, and now that I want your power, you cower away from me."

I heard a dark chuckle that didn't echo in my head, no it was in front of me. This wasn't reality! This was a messed up world that was entirely in my mind. I heard his gravelly voice cut through his chuckles.

 **"Forsøker du å få mine krefter til å virke som om det var enkelt,"** he stepped out from behind a tree and grinned.

"I am the Chief of the Bear Clan, I will not be controlled any longer," I said standing firm.

 **"Jeg fortalte deg en gang, jeg vil ikke villig bøye deg til deg. Tving meg til innsending og da vil jeg ikke lenger motstå deg,"** he brought his fists up and squared his shoulders.

Without saying anything, I dropped my shoulder in preparation for the fight. Deciding not to let him get the first blow in, I ran at him, but he had the same idea because we collided in the middle of our charge and I was pushed back. He was about my size, height wise, but his rock solid muscles were causing my feet to dig trails in the ground as I was pushed back.

His black eyes stared into mine and I flexed my shoulders trying to regain some ground. He didn't budge and he gave a massive bellow and we pushed away from each other. He definitely had me beat in strength and speed, but he didn't look like he was strategic. Then again, I thought, he didn't need to think of ways to beat his opponents other than get a hold of them and rip them apart.

I remembered how the story of when he had torn apart the tracker without stopping to care for his wounds. I circled him trying to see if there was any weak areas. He stood coiled like a spring and ready to pounce. It was an unequal stalemate, he knew that he was stronger but wanted me to willing submit, but I was not the type to give up even in a nearly unwinnable fight.

I charged him and threw a punch at his face, which was blocked, but I punched at the only weak spot that I could think of. His groin. It was a cheap shot, but in a fight for control of my body, I would do anything to win. He didn't flinch and I knew that I had only pissed him off.

He bellowed again and punched me in my face. I saw stars from how hard he hit. I staggered back and brought up my hands to ward off any follow up attack. He didn't move after that, and I knew that if I took a couple more hits like that, I was going to lose. The chances of me winning were getting smaller by the second.

When he charged me, I tried to step to the side of him, but he shot out an arm and grabbed me by my throat. Lifting me up, his black eyes glared into mine.

 **"Du er svak, jeg vil kontrollere denne kroppen og legge krav til begge våre kompiser,"** his words filled me with rage and I felt strength flood into my limbs.

I raised my arms and grabbed his forearm with a crushing grip. His eyes widened in surprise then narrowed as he tried to make me remove my hands. I continued through the pain and the spots that were dancing in my vision. I felt his arm tense under my grip as I felt his bones creak and with a mighty jerk, his bone snapped loudly. He dropped me and backed up slightly in confusion. I took a deep breath, filling my lungs, and pressed my small advantage.

Watching his arm lull limply to the side, I dropped my shoulder and rammed it into his chest. The impact pushed him back and I felt satisfaction. If I had tried to do that before, I would have failed, but now, my body was overflowing with energy and rage. I punched his jaw and his head snapped to the side. He spat some blood then slugged me in the face. I hit him and didn't even try to block his haymaker before I retaliated with an uppercut. I felt blood gushing from my nose down my face. Blood stained both of our fists when we briefly stopped our slug match. I threw a desperate punch into his nose and his body jerked back and collapsed on the ground.

"I won't let you touch my mates," I growled looking down at him.

He grinned through a blood filled mouth, most of his teeth were now missing. **"Du innrømmet at de er dine kamerater."**

He then broke up into a fit of harsh laughter. I pressed a heavy boot on his chest and pressed down. He continued to laugh, but after a few more rumbling chuckles, he quieted and placed his head on the ground and closed his eyes. Feeling him relax, I readied for him to attack if I let my guard down. As if reading my mind, he grunted and said, **"Ingen triks denne gangen, du har erobret meg i åpen kamp. Jeg vil sende uten motstand, min Sjef."**

I looked into his face, searching for any signs of deception and when I didn't find any, I pulled my boot off his chest and extended an arm. He accepted my hand and rose to a kneeling position. His head was bowed and he began to speak slowly and in a low tone.

 **"Jeg sender inn og vil gi min makt hver gang jeg er påkalt. Så jeg sverger på navnet på den første Bjørn, Bjørnir."**

The forest around me faded and his words echoed continuously in my ears. I found my body on the floor of the basement from where I had thrown myself. My shoulder ached but the pain was not what I had expected. Glancing at my Brand of Chiefship, I saw that it was pink around the edges, similar to a mild case of sunburn. The actual brand itself had completely transformed into a knotted white scar that was clearly visible.

I flexed my body and activated my berserker ability with blood pounding in my ears. Details of my surroundings became clearer and sharper. Colors became more vibrant, sounds were more easily heard, and smells more prominent. I noticed that I was feeling slightly cool between my legs and when I glanced down I saw why. While I was fighting my inner berserker, my pants had torn and were no longer wearable.

I felt the energy leave my body as I sagged slightly against the wall, but I stubbornly remained upright. My whole body trembled as I walked up the stairs and into daylight. When I had branded myself, it was evening and now it seemed that I had been unconcious all night. I took a long draught from the water that I had collected feeling refreshed and ready to set out for Forks.

I closed the doors to the basement and sealed the entrance with a downed tree. With the basement now sealed, I walked to the broken down house.

When I entered it, I saw the signs of my stay were everywhere. From moved furniture, opened draws, even some torn up lichen. I walked stiffly into my father's study and looked into the small wardrobe that I had only briefly looked into before. It had some of my father's outfits from when he was a warrior, heavy jeans, light linen shirts, even a pair of iron tip boots. Taking off my torn pants and setting them off to the side.

My father's clothes fit me with just a few minor adjustments. The sleeves had to be removed from the linen shirt but otherwise it was fine. The jeans fit me with a comforting weight, and I replaced my old boots that were falling apart with the sturdier ones of my father. My new boots were a little heavily but I didn't have any trouble walking with them on. I found a hip pouch that I filled with my mother's Oil Orbs and the recipe for when I had time to make new ones.

The only thing that was missing was my bear skin cloak. It had been a joke when my mother had got it for me, but after the incident, it was one of the few items that I held onto it had been ruined in one of my fights with the tracker and his allies. Now that I thought about it, that was right before I had been taken in by the Cullens.

With my new outfit completed, I placed the two tomes that would be a testament to the strength of the Bear Clan in a medium oak chest that had blackened iron latches on it. Placing the heavy chest on the passenger seat beside me, I took one final look at the broken house that I was leaving one last time. I felt more at peace than I had in a long time. I didn't know what the future held, but I was confident that I now had the strength to defend my friends.

 **HE IS NOW HEADING BACK TO FORKS AND WILL ENCOUNTER SOME DIFFICULT PEOPLE. I KNOW THE FIGHT WAS A LITTLE BIT DISAPPOINTING, HOWEVER I'M STILL TRYING TO WORK IN ACTION WITHOUT DESTROYING THE DELICATE BALANCE OF ROMANCE, ADVENTURE, AND STORY. ADAM IS NOW A CERTIFIED BADASS AND IS A WALKING TANK. THE REASON THAT I AM GIVING FOR THE INNER BERSERKER NOT SPEAKING ENGLISH WAS A SHOW OF DEFIANCE AND TO BE HIS OWN SEPARATE PERSONALITY. HE WON'T BE GIVING ADAM ANYMORE MAJOR TROUBLE. I HOPE MY READERS ENJOY THIS CHAPTER AND THE REST OF MY STORIES. UNTIL NEXT TIME, READ, REVIEW, AND ENJOY.**

 **Translations**

 **Are you trying to get my powers to appear as though it was simple: Forsøker du å få mine krefter til å virke som om det var enkelt.**

 **I told you once, I will not willingly bow down to you. Force me into submission and then I will no longer resist you: Jeg fortalte deg en gang, jeg vil ikke villig bøye deg til deg. Tving meg til innsending og da vil jeg ikke lenger motstå deg**

 **You are weak, i will control this body and lay claim to both of our mates: Du er svak, jeg vil kontrollere denne kroppen og legge krav til begge våre kompiser**

 **You admitted that they are your mates: Du innrømmet at de er dine kamerater.**

 **No trick this time, you have conquered me in open combat. I will submit without resistance, My Chief: Ingen triks denne gangen, du har erobret meg i åpen kamp. Jeg vil sende uten motstand, min Sjef**

 **I submit and will give my power whenever I am called upon. So I swear on the name of the first Bear: Jeg sender inn og vil gi min makt hver gang jeg er påkalt. Så jeg sverger på navnet på den første Bjørn**

 **Ghost Operation Systems signing out.**


	13. Returning to Forks

**I'M FOR ANOTHER CHAPTER. IT HAS BEEN A WHILE AND I HAVE BEEN MULLING OVER HOW TO GET THIS CHAPTER FINISHED AND SMOOTHLY TRANSITION INTO THE ACTION.**

 **DxGRAYxMAN-I want to include some fighting that gets the blood pumping and I will be making some of the antagonists stronger.**

 **Guest-it is rude but I understand why you did it. I have not abandoned The Brother of Wallenstein I am just confused. Should I continue with my plan of finish the first season sticking close to canon then go off on my own or should I stick close to canon for the entire story.**

 **AGAIN, I DON'T OWN THE TWILIGHT FRANCHISE. I ONLY OWN MY IDEAS AND CHANGES. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE REVIEW THIS STORY. SO WITH THAT OUT OF THE WAY, STORY START.**

Chapter 13: Returning to Forks

Adam POV

The return trip to Forks was mostly uneventful, except for when the truck ran out of gas and I pulled into the gas station forgetting that I had no money to pay for the diesel. Lady Luck must have finally decided that I was overdue for good fortune because the gas station that I stopped in was currently in the process of getting robbed.

The would-be robber held a small revolver that had trembled when he was pointing it at the person behind the counter. When I walked in, he swung his gun around at me. He screamed at me to get on the ground and not look at his face. Seeing his scared eyes, I walked forward calmly. He screamed at me with his annoyingly shrill voice to stay back. I ignored him again and stopped about an arm's length from him. He tried to take a step back, but I punched him in the face and grabbed the fallen gun.

The manager was so happy that when the police came for the unconscious idiot and I mentioned that I didn't have enough money to pay for some gas, he happily waved the fee and let me get a full tank before thanking me again.

The rest of the drive after that was peaceful and slightly boring. I pulled into Julie's long gravel driveway around nightfall. The tires created a loud, crunching sound that got Billy's attention from the front porch. He saw me and waved slightly. When I stopped and got out, he greeted me with a smile.

"Hello you ugly bastard," he said looking me up and down, "I liked you better with hair."

After I gave him a glare, he turned serious, "Did you find any answers that could help?"

"Yeah, I'll explain tomorrow to the elders. I have driven all day and I want to sleep," he let me in and I collapsed on the ratty old couch.

"Don't screw with the stuff in the bed of the truck, or I'll be chopping off limbs," Billy shook his head and left me alone.

My eyes weren't even shut for what seemed like a few minutes before I felt a finger poking my cheek. I heard a soft giggle when I tried swat the hand away from trying to wake me up. When the soft finger poked my face again, I cracked a single eye. Standing over my drowsy form was Julie. She had a smirk on her face and her eyebrows were cocked in amusement. She was wearing shorts and a tank top that showed her gorgeous tanned skin and dark tribal tattoo.

"What took you so long," she said peering down.

"Traffic was a bitch, and your truck is a piece of scrap" I mumbled.

"What happened to your hair? I liked it the way it was," I gave her a look of, I'll explain later.

"Anyway, get up. It's time for breakfast and some of the boys are over, so you better hurry," her words made me grumble and swung my legs over the edge of the lumpy couch.

After standing and getting the sleep out of my eyes, I stumbled onto the porch were about five other people were eating fried hash browns. Sam, Embry, Sam Clearwater, Billy, and Julie looked over at my exhausted form. Seeing that the plate of food was empty, I sighed and shook my head, ready to wait until after my meeting with the elders to get some food. Julie caught my eyes and passed a still warm hash brown over to me.

I thanked her and took a bite from it savoring the taste of food after so long. I noticed that Embry chuckled and looked pointedly at Julie probably saying something mentally. Her eyes narrowed and her jaw clenched before she slugged him in the shoulder. He laughed and rugged the bruised skin. After finishing the small meal, I got into Julie's truck. Julie moved the box with the tomes to the back of the truck before hopping next to me in the truck.

She took a deep breath before smiling brightly at me. I felt my heart flutter and turned my head to drive off. We made small talk about how I had been and what had happened while I was gone. Apparently, a pair of vampires had been chased all the way to the canadian border. One was a man with tanned skin and dreads and the other was a woman with fiery red hair.

"Wait, your telling me that you had two seperate incidents where those leeches were in your territory and both times you lost them," I asked in disbelief.

"Shut up," she growled at me.

"Some tribe of vampire hunters. All that fur must be for being a fluffy puppy," I teased her.

She huffed loudly and turned to look out the window right as we pulled into the lodge area. We got out and I grabbed a few things from the back. I slid my personal Burning Axe into a leather loop that was built into the jeans I was wearing. I lifted the Great Axe that I had modified and rested it on my left shoulder. The durable oak chest was tightly held under my right arm. I got some strange looks but I ignored them and walked into the building where my hunt for the answers I now hold had started.

"Welcome back, outsider," one of the elders greeted as he looked at me with disgust.

"I will not tolerate disrespect," I spat back before stopping and swinging the large axe off my shoulder and thumping it against the ground.

When the elder flinched from both the axe and my flinty gaze, I turned to the assembled Quileutes. They stared at me with differing gazes, some were of anger, other respect, and a few were just curious about what I had learned. When someone broke the silence, all eyes were focused on Sam, the person who spoke.

"What did you learn from your trip."

I gazed slowly around the room before answering, "I have learned about the fate of the three clans. I have also learned of my own heritage."

This got them interested because they beckoned for me to sit down. I didn't and continued my story.

"The Boar clan was wiped out completely. They had been corrupted by their power and grew arrogant. The vampires began to recruit disgruntled people to hunt down the berserkers. The Wolf clan was too honorable to harm the humans until it was too late and they were on the brink of extinction. A single ship escaped and landed in the Americas before they migrated to Forks and you know the story from there."

After my voice trailed off after I said this and one of the elders noticed what I had left out, "What about the last clan, the Bear clan."

"They were isolated in the mountains and they didn't notice the coming danger until it was too late. Raid after raid, they were slowly picked off until only one fortress remained. When the vampires attacked, they slaughtered every man, woman, and child. There was only a single survivor, he fled to Canada and started a family," after I said that, several people were hit by the realization of what was coming.

"Some of you have already realized what is coming. My father was the last chief of the Bear clan. I returned home and learned of the mantle that I would have to take up. During my time at home, I underwent the ceremony of becoming the chief." Their eyes showed their disbelief, and I smirked slightly.

"I am Adam Orthro Bjørnir, the last of the Bear clan of Berserkers. I am the twenty-first chief in my line and I will not bow to any authority except my own," I bellowed, gripping the axe handle tightly.

For a moment there was only silence, then the elders broke out of their stupor and began yelling. I heard a loud complaint that I was a fraud and that I was only a coward who was aiding the vampires. I saw Julie shot to her feet and start defending me but I felt my temper explode.

"SHUT UP," my voice silenced all other voice before I continued talking.

"Any who claim me to be a fraud can step forward and test my claims. I will warn you though, my honor and pride has been stained, and I will show no mercy to any who question my claim."

I activated my berserker side and felt the power coarse through my veins. Everyone was silent and no one spoke until Julie broke the silence.

"I will stand by Adam, he has shown himself to be honest and trustworthy. I know that he would never claim something so serious without being completely honest."

Her words made my body warm and my power pulsed under my skin slightly, responding to her words. After a few tense minutes, I stopped the flow of my power. I relaxed and placed a hand on my defender's shoulder. She turned to me with a glint in her eyes that I hadn't seen before. I felt my chest tighten as her gaze settled on me.

"You want to drive with me back to Isabella's, I would like to unload the things I brought here," I lowered my voice so that only she could hear.

Her body was shaking slightly, but she accepted my offer and walked outside with me, leaving the elders who were still in a state of shock from what they had learned. I was pushed to the passenger side and Julie ran to the driver's side and hopped in and started the engine. I chuckled and got in the truck.

I was staring at her as she drove and her eyes would flutter our and when she noticed that I was looking, she quickly turned her head. This went on for about five minutes before Julie finally said something.

"Why do you keep staring at me," she stuttered slightly.

I shook my head slightly, "I don't know, I feel...odd."

She let out a small, nervous laugh. "I can transform into a giant wolf and you can ignore life threatening injuries."

At my questioning gaze, she clarified. "Bella told me. Anyway, we live in a world where monsters and strange things happen. Feeling odd is a pretty normal."

"I don't feel odd about my situation or the world. I feel more odd when I'm around you," I confessed to her, and I saw that she tensed up.

The conversation lulled and we continued the rest of the ride in silence. I saw that her hands were digging into the steering wheel with her modified strength. The driveway was empty when we pulled in. Charlie was obviously at the station working, but even Julie didn't know where Isabella was. It took about ten minutes to unload the eighteen weapons of the past chiefs and bring them into the shed and wrapped them in a paint splattered tarp.

"If you see Isabella, don't tell her I'm back," I asked as Julie was leaving.

"Yeah, I'll see what I can do," her voice was distant, just like she had been since our conversation.

"I missed you," I said bringing her into a soft hug.

I don't know what possessed me to do that, but it was worth seeing her blushing face. She stuttered out a goodbye and bolted to her truck. I felt puzzled over my actions and a voice that I hadn't heard in a day speak up.

 **"It is only natural to want to hold your mates in your arms."**

"I thought that you were gone, why are you still bothering me," I mentally asked feeling shock.

 **"You have defeated me and can freely use my power, but I wanted to stay. Consider me your conscious now,"** his rough voice held mirth that made me feel nervous.

"I don't need a voice in my head," I complained to him.

"How do I know you won't try to take control," I said cautiously.

 **"You don't, however, I swore an oath to serve you faithfully and without question,"** his voice was soft and subservient.

I dragged my feet up the stairs and entered the small closet like room that I was lent by Charlie after a few months of sleeping on his couch. I rarely used the room except for storage of some of my personal effects. I flopped down on the cot that squeaked under my weight. I placed the box with the tomes in it next to me then trudged down to the slightly more comfortable recliner that Charlie had claimed.

"I just want to take a nap, and be left alone," I cut the conversation and drifted into a mellow sleep.

Bella POV

I shivered from the cold. My clothes were soaked from my jump into La Push and my entire body ached. Maybe it wasn't the best idea to jump off of a forty foot cliff, but it was the only way that I knew that I could see him again. When I hit the water, I was knocked out for a brief second, and after I regained clarity, I could feel my body being tossed around like a ball. I couldn't even see which way was up.

A pair of slender, strong arms had circled around me and hoisted me out of the water. It was Julie and she was still currently glaring at me. Her clothes were wet but she wasn't shivering like I was.

"What the hell, Bella!" she shouted, glaring at me with her intense eyes.

"I just wanted to see what it was like," I stuttered due to the cold.

She sighed and looked at me with disappointment before lifting my jacket off my shoulders. I was led to her truck that was precariously parked on the edge of the beach. The dirt and grass had been scraped away when she had skid to a stop to jump out and get me out of the water.

"Here," Julie handed me a bundle of clothes, "These should be around your size."

I thanked her meekly and began to peel my water logged clothes off. It was awkward to change clothes while crouched behind an open door, but luckily Julie gave me my privacy. After I had put on her loose shorts, well loose on me, and a shirt, I climbed into the truck and turned the heat up. Julie just smirked at me as she sat in her wet clothes but wasn't shivering like me.

"It is so unfair that you have your high body temperature," I said shivering, even with the heater on, my long hair was plastered against my back.

"It is just one of the benefits of being me," she said not taking her eyes off the road.

"Can we stop by your house," I asked timidly.

"Sure, I think you still have an outfit there for when you stay over," she took a turn and we continued towards her house.

"I'll go back to get your truck and bring it here," she said and then fell silent.

"So," I began, "have you talked with Adam recently? It's been nearly a week."

"Yeah, I talked with him this morning. He sounded exhausted but he never said anything about when he would return," her voice wavered slightly and I felt bad for her.

I knew that she had a crush on Adam. Whenever he was around, her eyes followed his muscular arms as he lifted heavy parts. Her entire mood had been subdued and and gloomy since he had left unexpectedly. I understood what she was feeling on a certain level. When he left, I had shattered completely and I was just starting to feel better. Adam and Julie had been the pillars that helped me.

Julie became my best friend and had became my source of advice. Adam was the one, however, that gave me the strength to continue on. He let me vent all my frustrations, insecurities, and yearnings for Edward to return. He showed me that a person had to stand up even though they were tired and in pain.

When we got to the small house of my friend, her dad was in the living room watching a Mariners game from a week ago. He must have missed it and needed to catch up on how they did. He greeted us with a small wave and only tilted his head at my wearing his daughter's clothes.

"Looks like you two had a party," his wrinkles moved as he smiled with impish teasing.

"Yeah, Bella here decided to test the old saying of if you jump off a cliff," his showed his shock as his eyes scanned my aching and slightly hunched form.

"Well, I hope that you are getting her something better than your old shorts."

"Don't worry old man, you must be going senile to think I would let my best friend catch a cold," her voice was dismissive as though what she was saying was obvious.

"Your best friend, what about that Adam guy," at his teasing, her cheeks got a tinge of pink.

"That's different," she murmured softly.

Billy laughed loudly and nearly wet himself. I gave a small smile at her embarrassment and followed her into her disorganized room. I spotted my clothes in the corner and rushed to put them on. Now dressed in a pair of worn jeans and a faded Rush shirt, I sat of Julie's bed. I hung my wet clothes on the back of a chair and waited about ten minutes before Julie came in. She plopped down next to me and then released a deep sigh.

"So what do you want to do," she said laying back with her eyes closed.

"I think that we could talk about how your growing affection for Adam," I said waiting for her reaction.

She reacted just like I thought she would, explosively. She jumped off the bed and looked down on me. She yelled out that she wasn't in love with Adam and other similar denials. Her face was red and her arms were making wide arcs to try and explain her point. When we both heard her father laughing, she shut her mouth and sat down, cupping her face in her hands.

"It's fine," I said rubbing slow circles on her back, "I know that you love him. You are an open book when you're around him."

"Why is it so hard to admit," her voice was muffled, but I winced at the timidness of it.

"I think that the only person who doesn't know is Adam," I admitted and was pleased that she lifted her head.

"Really," she said slowly, "was I that obvious?"

I nodded my head, and she groaned before she straightened her back and squared her shoulders. I decided to spare her the awkward conversation, so we started talking about how I felt while in mid air. We chatted for a couple hours about our lives and what was new. apparently , her packmates were avoiding her lately and it was beginning to grate on her nerves.

"Hey Bella," Billy called from the living room.

"Yeah."

"It's getting pretty later and Charlie has been worried about you staying out after dark," he said, causing me to look out.

The sun was setting and dusk was coloring the sky with golden clouds. When I said bye to Billy, Julie said that she would take me home so that I was sure to get there. We got into my truck and rumbled our way to my house. The cool evening air made my damp hair feel like ice. I leaned into Julie's shoulder and then unbuckled and scooted across to be next to her.

"If you're going to brag about your heat, I'm going to take advantage of it," I noticed her chuckle softly.

Her body brought warmth to my cold bones and I relaxed fully. I felt myself become drowsy and before my eyes could close fully, I felt the truck lurch to a halt. I opened my eyes blearily and saw that we had reached my house. A light was on in the front room and I didn't see Charlie's cruiser.

"See you tomorrow. Maybe we can get you riding around in the woods with us," she grinned and took a deep breath through her nose.

She got a dreamy look on her face that she held as I left. She walked down the street and into the woods leaving my truck on the curb. Opening the door, I was greeted by a deep snoring. I found the source and was happy to see Adam was stretched out on the recliner. This must have been why Julie was in such a strange mood all day. It wasn't sadness, she had been trying to keep the surprise for when I got home. After I closed the door, I turned to walk to the kitchen to make some food, but I was startled by the worried visage of Alice that appeared in front of me. Her hair was slightly messy and her eyes had deep shadows under them.

"A-Alice," I stuttered shocked that she was here.

"Bella," she said, throwing her arms around me in a tight embrace.

"I'm sorry, it's just that I can't, I can't believe your here. Are the others back," her face was now angry.

"Would you like to explain to me how you are alive," her voice was upset and my confusion grew.

"What?"

"I had a vision of you. You jumped off a cliff for God's sake. What in the hell were you thinking, trying to kill yourself, how do you think Charlie would react, or even Adam?"

"I didn't try," I blurted out stopping her rant.

"I was...cliff diving, for fun. A real rush," her face was in shock but she quieted down and led me into the living room.

She looked at Adam fondly before going over to the couch and tucked her legs underneath her facing me on the couch. I mimicked her and wrung my hands nervously. She looked like she wanted to join Adam in his chair but held herself back.

"You are the second most frustrating person I have ever known," she began softly, so as to restrain herself from joining Adam.

"Does, uh, he? Did you, tell," I stuttered out.

She shook her head softly, "No, he only calls in every few weeks. He said that he wants to be alone."

When she said that, I felt my rising hope dim a little. She looked at me sympathetically, then tried to turn the conversation to how things had been since they left. "Has Adam been doing ok? I would understand if was furious with me."

"He has been good, he takes on small jobs around town and is getting along alright," I said seeing her face so glum.

She smiled her thanks but then frown as she sniffed the air, "Bella, what is that God awful wet-dog smell?"

"Um, well, that's either me or Adam," seeing her confused face, I continued, "Julie, she's a…"

"Julie who," she asked suspicion creeping into her voice.

"Julie, she kinda a werewolf," I finished lamely.

"Uh," she said in disgust, "werewolves are not good company to keep, and Adam has been around her as well?" She got off the couch and walked over to Adam's snoring form.

She gently placed a hand on the heavily sleeping man, and several things happened at once. Adam's eyes shot open, he grabbed his small axe that I didn't even know was leaned against the side of his makeshift bed, and lunged forward pushing Alice into the wall. At the same time, Julie pushed through the front door and raked her gaze over the room. Her eyes widened when she saw Adam forcing Alice against the wall.

"What are you doing here," Adam roared angrily in her face.

"I-I-I," she stuttered under the thunderous force of his anger.

"I want an answer, now!" he barked.

"I saw Bella jump off a cliff," she murmured, looking crestfallen.

His eyes turned to me with the question being asked silently. I nodded and he shook his head in disbelief. He backed away from Alice and he sat with a loud humph before looking at the people in the room. His eyes stayed flinty before he looked over at Julie still in her tense form. He took a deep breath before saying in a deep tone that betrayed nothing of his mood.

"I am going to try to stay calm, but I want explanations," he looked at Julie to start, which she did.

"I had to see if the two of you were safe," her eyes lowered to the floor.

"Well I'm not going to hurt them, especially not Adam," Alice was sincere and Adam's face remained stoic.

"Too late," Julie mumbled under her breath then spoke a little louder and sarcastically, "Of course not, your just a harmless Cullen. I was referring to the leech that has been trying to kill Bella because of you."

"Victoria," Alice asked in bewilderment.

"Yeah, she's been coming around according to the pack," I confirmed.

"I didn't see," she looked at me, "I didn't see you get pulled out of the water either."

She turned to Julie and hissed, "I can't see past you and your pack of mutts."

"You blood sucking bitch," Julie shrieked at her and was stopped from lunging at her by Adam, who stood up between them.

"I think the title of bitch suits you better," Alice snarled back.

"Enough! I will not be forced to mediate between the two of you," Adam said standing in between them and moving his gaze from one to the other.

Alice avoided his gaze but lifted her head and walked past Julie, to the front door. I felt panic well inside me, so I reached out to her timidly.

"Wait, you're not going anywhere. You're going to come back, right," I was desperate for her not to leave me again, my heart was crying out.

"As soon as you put the dog out," she sniffed disdainfully at Julie but smiled gently towards me.

"If you are going to fight, do it outside. I am not going to be the one that has to explain to Charlie about why two girls destroyed his house," Adam said sternly before he sat back down in the recliner.

Julie moved over to stand by next to Adam and Alice's eyes narrowed before she went back to the couch with me. Her eyes were locked on Julie and glowered at the smug look that was sent her way. Adam looked between the two of them with a blank face that showed his confusion at their animosity. Even with my heightened emotional state, I could see what was going on. Julie was being territorial over her crush, and Alice was jealous about how close Julie was to him.

"So are you back for good," I asked Alice gaining the attention of Adam.

"To be honest, I don't know," her words caused him to become more stoic, if that were even more likely.

She looked down glumly at her clenched hands in her lap before she gasped and shoot to her feet. She began to pace at a blurring speed and was saying something too fast to be comprehended. When she finally calmed down, her eyes were terrified. She pulled out her phone and tried to dial someone but she was unsuccessful.

"What's wrong Alice," I asked getting worried.

"It's Edward," she started, "he read my thoughts about my vision of you jumping. I came here, but he, he's done something rash."

"What has he done" Adam's voice resonated in the space.

"He's going to ask the Volturi to kill him," Alice said getting a gasp from me.

My feelings for him reared their head and I immediately rushed up to my room to get some things. The rest of them followed me. I was frantic as I wrote a note for Charlie saying that I was going to Italy. Alice, already knowing what I was planning, went outside and started her car, which was parked a few houses down. Julie looked at me with dismay and anger at Alice. Adam walked downstairs and I heard the backdoor swing open and slam shut.

"Why are you doing this," Julie asked quietly

"I have to," I said simply.

"No you don't. You can ignore this and just stay here. You can go to sleep and wake up in the morning," she pleaded with me.

"Is that what you would do if this were Adam," I asked quietly.

She opened and closed her mouth trying to saying something to try and convince me one last time, but she knew from the look in my eyes that it was pointless to try and stop me. She wordlessly walked over to my nightstand and picked something up. When she turned around, I saw the small knife that Adam had given me for my birthday in her hand. She placed it in my hand and walked out of the room.

Right before she disappeared down the stairs, she said with unshaking conviction, "I would do anything to save him," and with that she left my line of sight.

Adam POV

I pocketed one of the many whetstones that I had collected, this particular one was about the size of my palm. I grabbed the refurbished 'Bone Crusher' mace and walked out of the poorly lit shed. I decided to leave the Great Axe behind because it was too large to be hidden in public. I knew that we were going to be taken to where Edward was via a private jet. I remember Alice speaking about the pilot owing her a favor.

"What are you doing," Julie asked in shock.

"I'm going with them," I said simply, sliding my small axe into its loop.

"You aren't going," she shouted grabbing me wrist.

"I don't want to go," I confessed to her surprise.

"Then why?"

"I made a promise to protect Isabella, also I think that it would relieve you of some stress if I went," she shook her head.

"She would be safe, but you would be in danger," I rested my other hand on top of her and gently massaged it.

"I can defend myself," I said as I got her to release me.

"Fine, but I need to speak with you when you get back," she meekly said.

Seeing her mood lower, I teased her. "I know the real reason that you don't want me to go."

At her startled look, I continued, "Your jealous that I'm going to smack around some bloodsuckers."

"Yeah that's it, I'll see you when you get back," she laughed and I knew that her mood had improved.

Isabella was startled by my appearance when I walked by her and got into the back seat of the new and expensive sports car. She followed me and slid into the seat in front of me. Alice forced the gas pedal down and we shot off to the airport. Isabella asked how we would be getting to Italy on such short notice. Alice asked, but I ignored her and calmed myself before starting a conversation with the voice in my head.

"Hey, are you there," I asked mentally.

 **"Always,"** it answered immediately.

"Why didn't you let me use the Rage when she woke me," I demanded savagely.

 **"You would have done something that would hurt you for life,"** his answer confused me.

"What would I have done? I wanted to scare her and show her the consequences of her actions," he growled at me with anger.

 **"She is our mate and I refuse to harm her."**

"She left me, she deserves to pay," I snarled at him.

 **"Regardless, she is our mate. She made a mistake, and we will punish her, but I will not harm her,"** he cut off our conversation and I groaned in frustration.

Focusing back on reality, I found myself listening to Isabella telling Alice that going one hundred twenty miles an hour was illegal. At the speed that we were going, it would only take another ten or so minutes to get to the airport. When Isabella tried to ask my opinion on the subject, I just grunted and refused to talk. I was busy thinking about my jumbled mess of a love life.

The berserker had referred to both Julie and Alice as my mates, and from what I remember of glancing through the ritual tome, mates were the only person that could calm the berserker and couldn't be harmed intentionally by the berserker. Sure I felt connected to the both of them, but it wasn't right to be in a relationship with both of them at the same time, it wouldn't be fair to them. I also wasn't sure about how I felt about the situation.

As I was lost in my thoughts, Alice parked the car in a hanger that had a streamline jet that had extra fuel on its wings. We got out and the pilot greeted us with a smile. He was a mild mannered man with a dusting of gray in his hair. He gave me an odd look for carrying weapons onto a plane, but shrugged when Alice assured him that I wouldn't damage his jet.

"It'll take about half a day of flying with a short stop in New York to refill before we head to Italy," Hank, the pilot, said over the intercom.

As the plane rolled onto the runway, my hands were tightly clenching the arms of my seat. Seeing my white knuckles, Alice reached over and placed a hand on top of my right hand. Because of the nerves that were filling me, I didn't even jerk my hand away in anger. I forgot my anger momentarily and allowed the comfort she was giving me to relax me body. I went rigid as the airplane lifted off the ground, and Alice began to stroke my hand with her thumb.

"Swallow some of your spit, it'll help with depressurization," Alice gently coached as I did what she instructed.

After we reach our maximum altitude, I relaxed fully. I nodded my head over at Alice in thanks for what she did for me. I pulled a curtain around my seat and leaned my head back into the plush headrest. I heard my neighbor sigh, then she got up and walked over to the loud Isabella. She had been tossing and turning, clearly filled with nervous energy, and wouldn't calm down. I heard them start talking, and I knew this was going to be a long flight.

 _~Time Skip: Fifteen Hours~_

The plane was behind me, and I was glad to be off that steel deathtrap. I hadn't spoken the entire flight and was polishing my weapons with an oiled rag. Walking into the morning sun, I saw that Alice had put on a neck scarf and a pair of sunglasses. Isabella looked slightly rested and glanced around looking for our way into the city.

Alice strode to a bright yellow italian sports car and opened the door to hop in. Following the person who seemed at ease in the car, I fold the seat forward and hunched forward to squeeze into the cramped backseat. Alice chuckled at my discomfort, and when our final passenger got in we sped away.

"How did you get this car here," Isabella asked the question that was on my mind.

"Well," Alice grinned impishly, "we just borrowed it for an unknown amount of time."

"What!" Isabella and my voices overlapped in shock.

"Don't worry, we should be done with it by this evening," I was not happy, but if it was going to be returned, then I had no major complaints.

"I get front seat next time," I grumbled, feeling very constricted.

Alice just giggled but kept checking on me in the mirror, when suddenly she had another vision, "They turned him down."

Isabella sighed in relief, but I could see that something was still bothering Alice, so I asked, "There is something else, isn't there."

"Yeah, he plans to reveal himself to humans, so that the Volturi have no choice but to kill him."

"When?" I asked feeling the pressure of time.

"At noon, when the sun is at its highest. In the main square," her answer made me chuckle.

Seeing both of the occupants in the car glaring at me, I supplied the truth I had realised "Your lucky that your man is so very symbolic and dramatic. It gives us more time. If he really wanted to, he could have just walked right into any crowded, sun filled square."

They nodded their understanding, but they became quieter than they had been before. They talked about whether Alice could show Edward that Isabella was still alive, but he would only dismiss it as a trick. To pass the time, I got my whetstone out and began to slide the rough rock over the slightly dulled edge.

 _shrrrrrk_

The sound was the only thing in the car besides mine and Isabella's breath. It made their eyes flick back to see what I was doing. I finished a single stroke then I went for another.

 _shrrrrrk_

I studied the edge with a critical eye then flipped the axe over to get to its other side. I had to make sure that I flipped it every few strokes to make sure that my edge didn't become skewed to a certain side.

 _shrrrrrk shrrrrrk_

"Do you have to do that while we are in a car," Alice asked.

"You are the one driving, if you want it to stop, drive faster," I said flipping the axe over again.

 _shrrrrrk_

"We could kick you out," she said cocking an eyebrow at me in the mirror.

 _shrrrrrk_

"I am being forced to suffer in the small space, so I will at least share my misery with you."

 _shrrrrrk_

I tested the newly sharpened edge against the hairs on my forearm and was pleased to see that it shaved them smoother and cleaner than a razor. I place the axe down and when I saw their faces lighten with relief, I nearly smiled.

 _Shhhhnk_

Their eyes glared at the mace, whose raised diamonds I was sharpening, and they forced their mouths to remain shut.

 _Shhhhnk_

Luckily the mace had just been redone, so I didn't have to do too much with it. They didn't know this however and I slid the whetstone one final time.

 _Shhhhnk_

"Alright, that's it I wi-"

"There's the city," I interrupted Alice.

Looking ahead, the city was very classic in structure. It had open windows, tiled roofs, and weathered stone roadways. We were forced to stop after about a kilometer into the city because there seemed to be a festival. The streets were crowded and crammed with people dressed in red robes and most of them were holding up statues of pigs, dogs, and some other shapeless blob that had been set on fire.

"It's five minutes to noon," Alice said, glancing at the clock tower that was clearly visible.

"We aren't going to make it," Isabella panicked and jumped out of the car and ran through the crowd.

"I'll follow her," and just like that, I was left alone in the car.

Muttering some unflattering words under my breath, I force the seat forward with a loud crack that told me it was now broken. I clambered out of the car. I was sure that I got some strange looks, but right now I was too angry to care. I had been forced to endure a lot of mental suffering because Lover Leech decided that a world without his love was unbearable, even though he had ended the relationship himself.

I let out an irritated growl that made the people who heard it to back away. As I started to follow the fleeing girls, the crowds parted around me. I ran down the street and hoped, that like all small towns, all roads lead to the town square. I ran, thumping my feet and then I broke free of the road and entered the large town square.

Quickly looking around, I saw that Alice was trapped in the waves of festival goers. It took me a moment to find Isabella, but when I did, I found her undead lover. He had no shirt on and was stepping into light. She wouldn't make it in time, I knew that as soon as I glanced at them.

Making a fast decision, I pulled off my glove and flicked a small lever that released all the tendon connectors. Yanking the prosthetic off and curling the fingers into a ball, I hurled the metal hand with the force of a cannon straight into Edward's chest. He slammed back into the shadows and I felt several eyes focus on me. Ignoring them, I pushed my way through the crowd and was greeted by the sight of Isabella hugging Edward for dear life.

"This is yours I believe," Alice handed me back my hand it took only a few seconds to reattach it fully.

"Thanks."

"Ahh, how nice of you to stay in the shadows," an accented voice droned out striding down the hall.

It was a boy who was wearing a dark grey cloak. He had dark brown hair and crimson red eyes. His face was soft and feminine. He was around five foot, so I towered over his, but I was still cautious of his cheerful smile.

"Alec," Edward breathed out, "I have decided not to die. The Kings will no longer be needed.

"It doesn't matter now," his soft voice sent shivers down my spine.

"The Kings want to meet your human. And this one," he said, glancing at me.

"They are interested in him as well," with that he turned on his heel and walked away expecting us to follow.

My inner berserker was ranting about tearing this blood sucker to pieces, but I calmed him down by promising him blood.

 **THAT IS A WRAP ON THIS CHAPTER. I KNOW THAT IT HAS BEEN A WHILE SINCE I HAVE POSTED AND I'M SORRY FOR THAT. ALL MY EXAMS ARE FINISHED FOR A WHILE AND I CAN UNWIND A LITTLE. THIS CHAPTER WAS ACTUALLY THE FIRST SCENE THAT I WROTE FOR THIS STORY, THE ONE WHERE HE TAKES OFF HIS HAND AND CHUCKS IT AT EDWARD. THAT IS ALL FOR NOW. I WISH EVERYONE A MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY HOLIDAYS. STAY WARM AND HAPPY. UNTIL NEXT TIME, READ, REVIEW, AND ENJOY.**

 **Ghost Operation Systems signing out.**


	14. The Volturi

**I'M BACK WITH ANOTHER CHAPTER. I WAS PLANNING ON RELEASING THIS ONE ON THURSDAY, SO IT WAS ONE WEEK SINCE I LAST POSTED. HOWEVER, I AM GOING TO BE OUT OF INTERNET RANGE FOR A COUPLE DAYS. IT WAS BETTER TO GIVE YOU THE CHAPTER EARLY THAN LATE.**

 **DxGRAYxMAN-Thanks and yes I'm back for some awesome story telling. This chapter will hopefully spark some good reviews.**

 **AGAIN, I DON'T OWN THE TWILIGHT FRANCHISE. I ONLY OWN MY IDEAS AND CHANGES. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE REVIEW THIS STORY. SO WITH THAT OUT OF THE WAY, STORY START.**

Chapter 14: The Volturi

Adam POV

I watched the leech in front of me greet the woman that was working behind a counter. She was human, her cheeks were rosy and her eyes were a warm brown. She bowed her head when he walked by and stuttered something that I didn't understand. He said something in italian that made her blush and I was disturbed by her worshipping manner.

"She's human," way to state the obvious Isabella.

"Yes," the leech said airily, "she wants to be converted, so she'll works until her reward comes."

"And when will that be," his smile became predatory.

"Soon, maybe," he watched a group of tourists being lead past us.

"Make sure to save me some young ones," I growled and clenched my newly reattached hand.

"Calm down," Alice said placing a hand on my shoulder.

"Don't," I growled shaking her hand off.

Her face showed her hurt, but I stomped my way to the front and placed a heavy hand on the creepy leech's shoulder. He stopped and everyone looked at me in shock. Turning to me, his red eyes gleamed with amusement and a small amount of anger. He waited for me to speak, and so I did with my voice straining to become calm.

"You will not harm those people. If I find them to be injured, I will tear this place to the ground," his eyes narrowed as my grip stayed firm.

"Why should I concern myself with the opinions and lives of cattle," he tried to brush my hand off, but I refused to let him go.

"You will," I said curtly.

Suddenly, a black fog blocked out my sight. I couldn't hear any sounds, not even my own breathing. I no longer felt the shoulder that my hand was on, but when I squeezed my hand, I felt resistance. Putting a large amount of force into my grip, I got my vision and hearing back. The short leech was on the ground clutching his shoulder in pain, and I was being restrained by Alice, Edward, and some unknown blood sucker.

"I feel that that was sufficient enough to get my point across," I said shaking off the vampires.

He didn't meet my glare and was helped to his feet by the unknown vampire. His arm was hanging limply from his shoulder socket and his face was in obvious pain. We continued to wherever we were being lead, but now I was given a wide berth. More red-eyed vampires joined our group and circled around me to contain me. I saw the worried gaze of Alice, but Edward was too busy whispering into the ear of a shaking Isabella.

"We're here," the brown haired leech said through gritted teeth.

The large, ornate doors creaked open and we walked into a large pillared room. At the far end were three thrones that had differing patterns. The vaulted dome roof had gold inlays that outlined mosaic scenes. The vampires that sat on the thrones were strange and different from each other, however they were all sitting in a regal poses.

The one sitting on the left was a young man who looked to be around twenty. He had black shoulder length hair that flowed with some tangled areas. His red eyes were murky and his skin looked paper thin. His entire demeanor was of uncaring; the slouch of his shoulders, the sleepy look on his young face, and the aura of exhaustion that surrounded him.

The vampire directly next to him, in the middle throne, was similar in the aspect of appearance. He has a similar build to the first vampire, lean and fit. His black hair was longer and straighter and his skin was the same pale translucence and his eyes were murky red. What made me unnerved about him was his twitching fingers. His need for sporadic movement and his deranged grin set off alarms in my head.

The final vampire king was the strangest. He was in his late forties in appearance and his unclouded red eyes gleamed with a thirst for power. His straw blonde hair that was slicked back, blended with his pale skin perfectly. His frame was more slender than the other two, but made up the difference by being more rigid and cruel with his leer at Isabella and myself.

"It seems that they had some trouble on the way here," the vampire on the middle throne said whimsically.

I saw a young girl run up to the injured leech and begin talking with a rapid, annoying voice. She looked like a doll with her pale and gentle face. She was shorter than Alice and had heavily styled hair. Her snarl ruined the innocent appearance, then she glared at me with hate and I noticed that her features were similar to injured vampire that she was standing over. They must be related.

"Alec, come here," the blonde king asked.

He walked over with his relative helping him to stand next to the throne, and he bent over to whisper into the ear of the king. I didn't care what was going on but my body was ready for a fight.

 _clap clap_ "I am so glad that you have decided to remain with us," the middle one said laughing slightly.

"Thank you, Aro," Edward said standing in front of Isabella.

"No need for that. You have such an amazing gift," his childish manner made me nervous. A crazy person was dangerous, a crazy vampire more so.

"So this is the girl that you were so distressed over. The one who can block you out entirely," he hopped off his throne and walked over to our group.

Edward blocked her completely from view and put his foot forward. The young girl was standing on the platform and she narrowed her eyes dangerously. Edward collapsed on the marble floor, writhing in pain. Isabella ran over to his side and started crying.

"Please stop, I'll do what you want! Just please stop," she pleaded and the newly named Aro, laughed with a high pitched voice that made me wince.

"Most fascinating," his eyes were now wide and his black cloak swirled around him.

He raised a hand to stop the torture then took Isabella's hand and gently held it. After a few seconds, he let out another disturbing laugh that made me want to wring his neck.

"I can't see anything," at his words the gallery above our heads, that I hadn't noticed, let out gasps of shock.

He giggled with amusement. Aro gestured towards the small girl to step forward. She did so reluctantly and kept her gaze focused on me. She stopped right next to Aro and waited for his command. He pointed at Isabella and said, "You try."

At this point, I tried to step forward but felt the iron tight grip of Alice on my arm, stopping me. I looked back at her and saw that she was afraid. I suppressed the urge to comfort her and returned my focus back to the little vampire.

Her eyes were narrowed and her nose was scrunched in concentration. After straining herself for ten seconds with no results, she let out a sigh.

"I can't do anything," her voice showed her disappointment that she couldn't cause pain to another living creature.

"Most interesting," Aro commented.

"She knows too much. We should kill her and be done with it," the blonde vampire sneered.

"Now, now. Let's not be too hasty. She can resist my powers and even Jane's," Aro said, calming him.

"A gift such as her's should be used. I vote for conversion."

Immediately, Edwards voice cried its refusal. A burly vampire stepped away from my group and flipped Edward onto his back and held him down by his throat. Before anyone could say anything else, Alice stepped out from behind me.

"She will become one of us. I saw it," she stretched out her hand and Aro took it like he did with Isabella.

"So she shall," he said in joy.

"We should just-" the blonde was interrupted.

"Caius, stop your thirst for blood," the dry voice of the unenthusiastic third king spoke.

"I will not be told what to do by a person who-"

"Enough," Aro demanded, being serious for the first time.

"I have seen through darling Alice that Miss Swan will be turned. This will not be questioned," his voice shifted again as he gazed at me.

"And what of our other guest," he said wanting me to introduce myself.

Squaring my shoulders and looking directly into his murky red eyes, I said, "I will not be intimidated by you leeches."

His eyes danced with a mad light and his smile tighten a fraction of an inch. The uncaring king simple sighed and put a hand to his forehead. The blonde, Caius, stood up and voiced his rage at my disrespect to the Volturi. Aro looked over at the girl and she gave me a predatory smile before focusing on me.

My body felt like it was been stabbed and having my insides pulled out. I let out a grunt of pain but otherwise remained silent. I wasn't going to give this sadistic leech what she wanted. Not getting the results she wanted, she upped the power and my shoulders began to tremble involuntarily. Aro looked at her to stop and then asked me for my name.

Ignoring him, I threw a snide look at Jane-leech, "Is that the best that you've got. I've felt mosquito bites that were more painful."

She nashed her teeth and sent another wave of her power at me. She ignored Aro's commands and put more force on me. I stoically stood and let her try to bring me to my knees. Giving up, she lunged at me with her sharp nails outstretched. I held up my left hand and watching in satisfaction as she struck my metal limb.

I wrapped my fingers around her wrist and jerked her closer to me. I threw a punch into her angelic face and watched her get blown back. The gallery gasped and I turned to where she had landed.

"Enough Jane," he commanded when she got to her feet, her nose had hairline cracks around it.

"Yes little leech, listen to your master and stay down. This is for grown ups," I mocked before turning my attention to Aro.

"I am the one who should not be. I am the one that you tried to slaughter as a child," his eyes widened.

"I am the last Bear of the Berserker clans. I am Chief Adam Orthro Bjørnir! I have come, you blood sucking monsters, to claim the blood debt that is owned," I finished bellowing my statement to the court.

Immediately, everyone broke out into conversation. It seems that many had heard of the berserker clans and what had happened to them. Aro stopped smiling and he looked at me with cold, calculating eyes. Marcus sat up straighter, appraising me with an intrigued look.

"We must kill him," Caius called out silencing everyone.

"I came here originally to stop an idiot from dying, any who try to stop me from leaving, will be destroyed," I snarled, glaring back at the fuming king.

"There is no need to be hasty," Aro cut in, regaining his composure.

"Shut up you fool," Caius spat, "he has come here and openly said that he is seeking blood."

The two kings looked at each other, and I prepared for a fight, gripping both of my weapons tightly. Caius's eyes gleamed as he raised a hand, "I claim the right to execution by duel."

"You would need another vote to support your claim, and I say no," Aro and Caius looked over to their companion king.

"Fine," he sighed, "I support the claim of Caius."

Caius sneered and called forth a lithe person dressed in a red cloak.

"I nominate Cassius, of the royal guards to take this monster's head."

Cassius was like any other leech I had faced, arrogant. His dark hair was swept back with the air of uncaring. He walked as if I was lucky to even be in his presence. He cracked his knuckles and leered at me.

Stepping forward, I dropped my body into a crouch, making him smirk. He blurred forward. I had a brief flashback to when I had fought the tracker and lost parts of my fingers. I was not as arrogant now, and I was stronger. He stopped in front of me with his arm cocked back to pierce my chest, his smirk was splitting his visage.

I raised my axe and pulled the trigger to ignite the gas. I forced his arm up but heard the thunk of his cut off hand hitting the stone. He looked at the stump at the end of his arm with shock before he fully realized what I had done.

"My turn," I growled, making his eyes go wide.

He turned around and tried to blur out of the reach of my smoking weapons. He didn't even finish the cowardly action because I brought my mace to the side of his head.

 _ **Crunch**_

His head flew across the room until it lodged itself in one of the narrow windows. The expression on the none fractured side of his face was the same as when I had hit him. His headless body fell to the floor and was jerking around trying to reattach itself. Ignoring the stunned silence, I reached into my pocket and pulled out three golf ball sized orbs that I dropped on the leech's chest.

"I am victorious," I said placing my smoking axe on the orbs.

The orbs exploded in harsh light, and the leech was engulfed in flames. I glared defiantly at the blonde leech and his outraged look. The lazy king stood and was looking at me with an intrigued look.

"So it is true," he said smiling lightly, "the strength of the Bear."

As it turns out, I had used my power for that final blow and all the kings were looking at me with intense stares. Alice looked at me with fear, but when I looked closer, it was fear for me, not of me. Isabella had buried her face into Edward's shoulder, she probably thought that I was dead. Edward looked at me like I was a threat to the young lady that he held in a protective embrace. What a thought, I was the one who protected her when he had nearly broken her. Swinging my head around, I released a breath.

"I have killed your pitiful challenger. Now I want the blood that I am owed."

Aro recovered first, "Wonderful, I'm afraid that Cassius was beginning to get annoying anyway."

He shook off the death of one of his guards so easily. Marcus strolled over and put a hand on Aro's shoulder.

"I say that we let him go," his answer intrigued me.

"Why," spat Caius.

"As you remember, I was against the slaughtering of the children of the clans. I wish to amend the past and look to a better future," his tone surprised me because it was filled with passion.

The others noticed this as well because Aro cackled, "My old friend, this is the most passion I've heard from you in centuries."

"Seeing one of the warriors of old has reignited my battle passion," he said calming down slightly.

"Yes, it is a miracle, isn't it," Aro proclaimed loudly.

"Now onto the matter of the blood that you are owed," his grin faded,

"Am I correct in assuming that you are the one who was attacked seven years ago," I nodded.

"Well, I am truly sorry about that, _I_ had decided to let your family live in peace, but others were not so happy with my choice and split away from us," he sighed in mock sadness.

"They disobeyed my orders and attacked your home."

"What of the others," I asked.

"What others," he said in confusion.

"I tore apart those who attacked me, but what of the mastermind and his supporters," I demanded.

"You killed all who split from us," claimed Aro.

"I doubt that. Are there none who will step forward and admit their guilt," I yelled at all the vampires gathered.

"I assure you that there are none here who mean you harm," I looked pointedly at Caius.

"I know," Aro clapped his hands.

"Marcus, let's give him a gift to show our sincerity," out of the three kings, I disliked Marcus the least.

"Yes we shall," he said simply, his passion gone again.

Aro pulled some parchment from his vest and get beckoned forward a servant, the servant stuttered as he handed his master a fountain pen. Aro wrote a few things that I couldn't see.

"Jane, run to the vault and get me the items on this list," he handed the angry girl the new list.

She blurred away and I was left brandishing my weapons. Aro hummed and went back to sit on his throne. Alice placed a hand on my bicep and I glanced at her. Her worry made me relax a little, but I remained standing. I did walk to a marble bench after a minute and sat down. I remained vigilant as the people murmured in the large room.

"Adam," the meek voice of Isabella asked, "How are you feeling?"

"I want to leave. I think there is nothing here for us," I said, watching the kings talking.

Marcus leaned in and listened with a blank look on his face as he stared at me. Caius was in a heated argument with Aro, who was smiling and only saying the occasional word or two. Aro would look at me then grin and turn away.

"Why does he grab your hands," Isabella asked Edward, referring to Aro.

"It's his power, he views the memories of the person whose skin he touches," he explained.

I looked over and swore that that lunatic would never get the chance to go through my memories. We waited another minute before the sadistic runt blurred in with a bundle in her arms. She threw in down of the ground with disgust before returning to the side of her masters.

"Since Jane was so nice to get our gifts for you, shall we see what is being offered," Aro cackled and pulled a leather cord to unwrap the bundle.

With a franatical grin, he brandished polished armor that gleamed in the light. It was rows and rows of tightly packed ringlets of burnished steel formed into a shirt that had full sleeves for the arms and would go past my waist. He placed it down and reached into the bundle to pull out two gold bricks, each the size of a small loaf of bread. We were all stunned by glittering metal, it must have been worth a fortune. When he pulled out a small wooden box that had twisting knots carved into its surface, I could hear the light clinking of metal from the inside of the box.

"I present the gift of friendship," he then explained what each thing was.

"The chainmail is the armor that was worn by a chief that died after killing hundreds of us. The gold is our way of repaying you for the death of your family. Finally, we have a box that contains jewelry that was taken from the Bear clan's vault."

I was stunned, and so was everyone else in the room. I wanted to take the items, as they belonged to me by right, but I was cautious because the items could have been coated in poison or some other dangerous things to me. Looking over at Alice, I looked for any sign that it was dangerous. Looking at Edward, he shook his head to my silent question.

"I accept the gifts," Aro's face showed his hunger.

"However," his face fell, "I think that the scales have not been righted. I will demand the rest of my reparation one day."

I gathered the items and left the room in their silence. Alice followed after me and Edward stayed behind with Isabella. Before I was out of earshot, I heard Aro's order of Isabella being converted by next year. I mumbled under my breath,

"Not on my watch."

Alice looked at me sadly but continued walking beside me. The two lovers joined us a few minutes later, and I was happy to get in a normal sized car. Edward drove and Alice sat beside him. Isabella was nervously talking with him the entire way to the airport. I was just examining the items that I now possessed.

The chainmail shirt was hefty in my hands, the tight rings offered protection from most things. I saw that the collar and sleeves had three rows of gold rings that contrasted the light. Looking at what I assumed was the front, there were two golden shapes that stood out sharply. Holding it out a little, the shapes gained clarity and became two snarling bears rearing at each other. They were glinting and stood out proudly as bears that were ready for a fight.

Opening the box, I was greeted by glittering metal. The jewelry was all polished silver and perfectly cut gems of every color. Necklaces, rings, and arm bands bearing artwork that would have made an archeologist drool. I shut the lid and placed it securely in the chain mail. Finally getting to the hanger that we had arrived at, Isabella brought something to our attention.

"What happened to returning the yellow car here," I felt foolish for forgetting and Alice looked only slightly chastised.

"Oops," she pouted at her mistake.

I walked and nodded my head to Hank before stepping onto his plane. I was exhausted and ready to return to Forks and see how Charlie would react to his daughter's sudden vacation. Alice did her usual prancing as she followed me up the stairs. Looking back, I was tempted to smack my forehead. There, at the bottom of the stairs, Edward was hugging Isabella and murmuring apologies. I was so irritated by the delay that I decided to cut them short.

"Get on the fucking plane, I want to get some sleep."

They looked sheepish, and Isabella blushed but they walked up the steps slowly. Edward ducked his head and refused to look at me as he got onto the plane. I rubbed my forehead, this gesture was becoming a habit of mine. I knew, however, that this was going to be a horrible return flight.

 **AND THAT'S A WRAP FOR THIS CHAPTER. I USED THE BOOK DESCRIPTIONS OF THE THREE KINGS BECAUSE I READ THE BOOKS BEFORE I EVER WATCHED THE MOVIES. THE MOVIES REVERSED THE AGES OF MARCUS AND CAIUS JUST TO CLEAR UP ANY MISUNDERSTANDING. JANE AND ADAM ARE CLEARING NEVER GOING TO GET ALONG. I LIKE JANE X BELLA FANFICTIONS BUT AS A CHARACTER SHE IS DERANGED AND SCARY. I WILL TRY TO WRITE BETTER FIGHTS IN THE FUTURE. MY RAMBLING IS OVER NOW. UNTIL NEXT TIME, READ, REVIEW, AND ENJOY.**

 **Ghost Operation Systems signing out.**


	15. Together or Not

**THIS IS THE NEXT PUBLICATION OF MY STORY. I HAVE A AUESTION THAT NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED AT THE END, SO READ ALL OF IT. ON ANOTHER NOTE, I HOPE ALL OF YOU HAD A HAPPY NEW YEAR. IT IS NOW 2020 THAT IS GOING TO TAKE SOME TIME TO GET USED TO. I WOULD AS SO LIKE MORE REVIEWS, BUT THAT IS A MINOR CONCERN.**

 **DxGRAYxMAN-thanks for that. It is always nice when someone enjoys the amount of hard word a person puts in. Thanks for recommending me to your Fanfiction groups, it means a lot.**

 **xHFSxShadow-look no further. The next chapter is here.**

 **I DON'T OWN THE TWILIGHT BOOKS OR MOVIES. THEY BELONG TO A HOST OF DIFFERENT PEOPLE LIKE STEPHANIE MEYERS AND CATHERINE HARDWICKE. I HAVE NO FURTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS, SO ONTO THE STORY. STORY START.**

Chapter 15: Together or Not

Bella POV

Charlie was furious when we got back. He didn't yell or slam things, that only made it worse. His silent rage was worse because I didn't know when he had calmed down and it was also so rare that I had never dealt with it before. He grounded me for a couple months and I wasn't allowed to leave the house for out of town trips. I think the only reason that he was so lenient was because Adam talked with him in the kitchen.

"I handled it," he had said after walking out with arm over Charlie's shoulder.

"The brat played dirty," Charlie mumbled glancing at Adam.

"No I didn't, I just used some tools of persuasion," Adam chuckled leading my father out of the room.

I never did learn what Adam used to convince him, but that night, Adam was laughing in his rumbling chesty voice and Charlie was red faced. They both had headaches the next day, so I just assumed that they were drinking away their frustrations. Edward and the rest of the family had returned to school for the last three months of their senior year.

I maneuvered my truck through the parking lot and found an empty parking space next to Edward's Volvo. Rosalie glared at me but Emmett held her and stopped her thinking about me by peppering her with kisses. Feeling awkward, I turned my head and zeroed in on my best friend, Alice. Her pale skin was chalky and didn't have any of its normal beauty. Her golden eyes were downtrodden, showing her sadness. She mustered up a wide smile and bounded over to drag me over to Edward.

She gave me a small push and I fell into the arms of the person that I loved. Even though Adam and Charlie disapproved, I couldn't stop myself from gravitating back to him. Adam had been distant lately, taking more and more jobs around town. He came home late and collapsed on the couch, exhausted. Edward's arms around me made my worries about Adam take a backseat.

"Hey," Edward said airily into my ear.

"Hey," I murmured back.

"Do you want to come over after school, Esme has been dying to see you again," he smiled at me, and I felt my pulse quicken.

I nodded wordlessly. Charlie would be upset, but after meeting Esme personally, he knew how hard it was to turn the motherly vampire down. I clasped hands with Edward and we walked back to our classes. Jessica looked at me sourly as Mike followed me with his eyes. Edward placed an arm around my waist and drew me in. His jealousy was endearing even when he knew that I only had eyes for him.

I'm glad that Julie was a girl and in love with Adam because it would be strange choosing between my best friend and my lover. Thank God that I only have one love interest, unlike Adam. Banishing those strange thoughts from my head, I went to teenager hell, otherwise known as school.

Adam POV

I was in a situation that rendered all my strength meaningless. I had been kidnapped after I had finished unloading crates for a sportings store. Ok, maybe kidnapped was a strong word, in reality the vampire sitting across from me humming softly had asked to speak with me at a nearby diner.

Esme smiled happily at me, and I felt my tired muscles relax slightly. I had ignored the Cullens ever since they had returned, but it was impossible to be mean to Esme, she was simply too kind and cheerful. I watched her order two black coffees and turn to me smiling.

"How have you been Adam," she asked kindly.

"Ok," I said feeling uncomfortable.

Her smile shrank but she continued talking, "Good, I have been worried about the months that we were away."

I clenched my fist and scowled at the reminder that the people that I had let in, had betrayed my trust. Esme looked sad at my anger but she couldn't say anything because the waitress brought two steaming mugs of coffee.

Taking a gulp of scalding liquid, I choked on the bitter liquid. Coughing to get myself back under control. I peered over at Esme, she lifted the mug to her lips and gave the illusion of drinking to blending in. Setting the mug down, we both left our hands on the table.

"Are you going to be coming to stay with us," her voice was soft.

"You know why that is not something that I am going to do," I kept my voice civil.

"Please, Emmett misses your fights, Jasper misses your complaining, and Alice-"

"Don't, please," I pleaded.

She looked down, "I miss cooking for you and even your food that you make for us."

I felt pain in my chest, as I remembered the fun times that I had with the Cullens. Jasper picking me up and dragging me to his room to critique his art, Emmett taunting me and then running as I chased him, even the scathing barbs traded between Rosalie and I. Esme smiled when she saw my cloudy look of remembrance. I blinked out of the memories and focused on the smiling vampire in front of me.

"I can't go back. It's too painful," my words made her grab my hand in an attempt of comfort. Her cold hand had been warmed slightly by the hot coffee mug.

"It's ok, it's ok. I know that it hurts, but you need to get closure to move forward," she instructed.

"It hurts so bad," I admitted.

"You left me alone, no 'Hey we may be leaving soon' or 'We need to talk'. No, you just left. She left me all alone," I ranted giving the real reason for my anger away.

"It's ok. You poor thing," Esme said, brushing away the tear that had beaded in my eye.

"Why did you even take me here," I said regaining my composure.

"I miss talking with you," she smiled sadly, "Alice has been dragging herself through each day and I want the both of you to be happy."

The only thing that silenced my protests of talking about Alice was Esme's stern glare. She continued to talk about how Alice had been during her time away.

"She called and talked to me at least once a week. She spoke about missing Bella, but the thing that she talked about most was you. She yearned for your scent and for your arms to be around her in a tight embrace," I felt heat pool in my cheeks at the confession of Esme.

"Why didn't she tell me about leaving then," I glumly took another drink from my now empty mug, Esme switched our mugs, so mine was now full.

"She wrote you a letter," she began to root around in her designer purse.

"I know, I saw it."

"When she got back and saw that her letter was still unopened, she became a shell of what she was. Jasper has talked with me about her depression is the most overwhelming sadness he has felt in a long time," her hand stopped and she triumphantly pulled out a sealed envelope.

I recognized the slightly yellowed paper, it was the letter that I had left unopened in the Cullen house. The exposure to the elements must have been minimal and only colored the outside slightly. She offered me the small letter. I looked at it as if I was being offered a live snake. She gave me a glare that promised pain, and I took cursed piece of paper.

"If you have any trust in me, read this. It will help," she pleaded.

Sighing, I broke the seal and pulled out the folded letter. Her fanciful writing did not fill me with rage anymore, only dread. What if I found out that she didn't really love me, and that it was just a game for her. Scowling at that thought, I read the letter.

 _Hey Snuggle Bear (after last night),_

 _I know that you are most likely going to be angry because_

 _we are leaving. Edward was adamant that people are_

 _noticing that Carlisle isn't aging, I think that he is just using_

 _that as an excuse. I still can't see you fully but I know that_

 _we are going to be coming back, my original vision of Bella_

 _running with us hasn't changed. Even if the rest of the family_

 _says no, I'll kick their butts to return to my Snuggle Bear. I_

 _hope that my departure doesn't hurt you too much. When_

 _we get back, I am going to help you build that forge that you_

 _have been raving over XD. I know that you will be angry, but_

 _at the bottom of this letter I will include my new email address._

 _See you soon, my love._

 _Your little Kitten._

 _cuteness_for_the_win@gmail_

Tears filled my eyes as I finished the letter that promised she would return to me. She had loved me fully and completely. I pictured her smile that she must have had while writing, and it filled me with warmth. Looking at Esme, I saw only acceptance and contentment. She waved over the waitress and ordered another coffee for me.

"So, do you feel better," I nodded at her question.

"Are you going to come back to us," I looked up to refuse, but when I saw her hopeful eyes I couldn't refuse.

"I'll think about it," her smile lit up the room.

She hugged me as we were leaving, and I wrapped my arms around her slender frame tentatively. Watching her drive away, the warmth that filled me began to get poisoned by my growing anger. Lover Leech had forced Alice to leave me. It was his fault that she was away from me.

Walking back to Charlie's house, I stewed in my anger. How would things have gone if Lover Leech had pulled his head out of his ass? I would have stayed and continued to live in my happiness.

An image of Julie appeared in my thoughts, halting my anger. Would I have ever known about the shapeshifters, the legacy that I needed to take up? Would I ever had made peace with my inner berserker, or would I have lost control and forced to be put down like a rabid dog. Still imagining Julie's proud face when she finished her dirt bike, I decided that while it pissed me off to no end, I wouldn't change what had happened.

Now I was presented with an even bigger dilemma. My growing feelings for Julie and my love for Alice. Both were my mates, according to my instincts, but it would be similar to stringing them along. Not knowing what I needed to do, I pushed the complicated matters out of my head. I needed to solve the smaller issues first and then move onto the harder problems.

"Hello young man," one of the neighbors greeted as I neared the Swan's.

"Hello ma'am," I nodded my head and entered the house.

I walked up the stairs and entered my dingy room. Packing up my things in a worn suitcase that Isabella lent to me, I took stock of the things that I had. I had four pairs of jeans and several shirts for differing colors and designs. I packed my boxers without a second glance. When I put in the clothes that had belonged to my father, my touch lingered, wondering whether or not he would have approved.

I put in the chainmail, gold bricks, and delicately carved box next and I listened to the musical clinking of the metal. I put in my small tool set that was for my left hand exclusively, then I shut the suitcase lid. Pulling out the oak chest that contained the tomes of the Bear clan, I set it next to the full suitcase. I didn't know what to do next, so I sat down and waited for my decision to happen.

Weighing the options in front of me, I began to think. If I moved back in with the Cullens, I would be near Alice every day, and Edward. Just his name pissed me off. If I stayed with Charlie and Isabella, I would just be a drain. I liked the independence that I now had and decided that if I was going to return, I would confront Julie and our feelings for each other.

"Time to get this on the road," I said aloud after hearing the rumble of a truck.

I walked down to the porch and saw that Isabella was not alone in her old truck, Alice was laughing in the passenger seat. When she saw me standing on the porch, her eyes began to dart around looking for a way to escape politely. Isabella saw the change and saw me standing, waiting for them to pull in. I saw her stutter out an apology, but I held up a hand and beckoned them to join me.

I sat heavily in a plastic chair that squeaked under my weight, the truck rolled to a stop and above occupants got out. Alice looked everywhere but my eyes. It hurt to see her this scared, and I berated myself mentally for being so cruel to her. Isabella, seeing the obvious tension, excused herself to her room to do homework.

Feeling awkward, I broke the ice, "Hello Alice, it's good to see you again."

She looked into my eyes and saw my sincerity before a small, pure smile worked itself onto her beautiful face. "Hey Adam."

With the tension now gone, we began to talk a little more freely. I gestured to the chair in front of me and she sat down.

"How have you been recently?"

"Miserable," she groaned, "I have been missing you."

"I'm sorry that I've been avoiding you and your family," my words shocked her.

"Why? After what happened, I would expect you to never talk with us again," the thought made her drop her shoulders.

"I had a little talk with Esme," I admitted.

"She showed me some things that have changed my opinion. I have decided to pack up my things here," her eyes shone with hope.

"I am ready to leave, but I need to lay some ground rules first," she nodded her head quickly.

"Anything."

"If I do move back in, I need some time to settle back in. I have gotten used to being left to my own devices. Also, about the two of us," she winced, "I can't pick up where we left off. I'm sorry its just, I can't."

She failed to hide her disappointment, "Anything else."

"Just one. The land around your house, is it available for use," seeing her confused look, I explained a little.

"It is for a personal project. It'll make living with me a little easier"

"I'll have to talk with Carlisle, but I'm pretty sure that the land is unused," she said getting up.

I mimicked the action and rose to my full height, taller than her by over a foot. She looked up to me and I couldn't stop myself any longer. I swept her up in a bone crushing hug. Her feet don't touch the ground anymore, but I don't think she noticed. Her face was buried in my chest and I felt her taking in a deep breath before sighing in happiness.

"Thank you for that. I didn't realize how badly I needed that," she said after I let her down.

"I acted on impulse," I said embarrassed.

"You should be more impulsive," she smirked then added, "I will be talking with you later about your hair."

Her final comment got a laugh that originated from my belly before I headed inside, feeling lighter. Isabella was in her room, trying to act like she wasn't spying on our conversation. She failed miserably and I called out.

"Hey, Isabella," I was still the only person who called her by her full name, knowing how much it annoyed her.

"What," she demanded, getting irritated by me.

"I need to borrow your truck for a week or two."

"Why," she said suspiciously.

Sighing, I gave her my reason, "I'm moving back with the Cullens."

Her eyes widened and she silently nodded her consent. Happy, I grabbed the heavy suitcase and iron wrought chest and put them in the back of the old, red truck. Just as I finished put all eighteen chief weapons in the truck bed, Charlie pulled in. He looked disgruntled, but when he saw me packed, he came over quickly.

"What's going on," his eyes had crows feet from all the late nights he had been forced to work.

"I decided to give the Cullens another chance and move back with them," his eyes narrowed.

"You too. What is with that family," he grumbled running a hand through his hair.

"I finally manned up to the fact that I was running from my problems," he nodded again but still looked unsure.

"I actually plan to make something," I then told him of my plan and all the things I would need.

Charlie's eyes held intrigue and he nodded slowly, "It's a crazy plan, but I think that for the reasons you told me, it does makes sense."

He nodded again to assure himself then bid me farewell. I promised to come by every once in awhile to catch up and watch some games. He laughed and promised to get Billy over so we could be the trio again.

I pulled out of the driveway and drove into the darkening forest. I couldn't go over fifty due to the weight in the back, but I was happy that I wasn't going to be going too fast. The radio was playing some country song that annoyed me, so I turned it off. After about ten minutes of picturesque silence, I saw a figure standing in the road.

Getting closer, I saw that it was Julie. Her arms crossed in anger, and her feet bare. She wore some shorts and a gray tank top. When she didn't move as I drove closer, I slowed the truck to a stop, right in front of her. Her face was contorted in anger and she nodded her head into the woods.

Getting out and following her, I walked into the woods until the road was not visible. Stopping in a clearing, she turned and exploded in her glorious rage.

"Why are you going back to those bloodsuckers? Why are you going back to _her_?" she spat in obvious anger.

"I'm not going back to her," I said calmly, not scared of her.

"Yes you are, even after she left you," that hurt me slightly, "I have been here for you and you go back to her."

"I'm not going to stand here and listen to you rage at me. I am not going to be with her if that is what's got your panties in a knot," that was the wrong thing to say because she snarled inhumanly, before transforming.

Luckily, I threw myself back before her claws caught me. I landed on my back and her front paws landed on either side of my head. She snarled at me and some saliva splattered on my stoic face. After she was done and she had me under her fully, I said in irritation.

"That was the wrong thing to say, and for that I'm sorry, but I won't take being pinned and drooled on as my punishment," her eyes showed remorse and she slowly back on me, careful not to step on me.

"That's better. Now can we have a calm conversation," I patted her snout, but she moved her head side to side.

"Please tell me that those weren't your only clothes," she at least had the decency to look sheepish.

"The things I have to deal with," I said before I took off my shirt and held it out for her to take.

She didn't even notice my outstretched hand. Her eyes were glued to my bare chest. She nosed her way past my hand and began to sniff my slightly sweaty body. I blushed, but didn't push her away. I did push her away, when her maw opened and her tongue went to lick me. I tapped her on the nose and she broke out of her stupor. Looking shy, she let me place the shirt on her back.

She walked behind a tree and I heard the rustling of clothes. Walking out from behind the tree, she tugged down on the hem of the shirt. It was big on her but only reached her mid thigh. Her face was bright red and she refused to look at me.

"Now that we can actually talk," cue another blush, "I want to explain something."

"Fine, but I need to tell something to you after," she looked around.

"Ok, I am going back to the Cullens house, but I'm not going to be staying in the house," she looked confused, so I explained my master plan, the same plan that I told Charlie but with details that I couldn't add before.

She nodded and repeated some things to make sure I knew what I was saying. After explaining everything, she looked at me with lust in her eyes. I knew that she was drawn to me just as I was drawn to her.

"Your idea is crazy, but I like it," she grinned wolfishly.

Leaning up against a tree, I listened to her as she began her rant, "Bella told me that she wants to be turned by Edward. The problem with this is that one of the conditions of the treaty is that if they bite a human the treaty in nulled. I mean come on, why does she have to be so stubborn about this. I am just trying to keep the fragile peace."

She continued on for another minute, but stopped when she saw my mind was wandering. I was shocked but quickly assured her that I would do everything I could to talk Isabella out of her stupid decision. Julie told me about the stubbornness of her friend that I fully knew of. Ending our conversation, she walked away still wearing my shirt. Stupidly calling out to her, I watched her turn to me.

"In one month, I will have finished my project. I want you to stop by. I think by then I will have some answers for you," she smiled then ran into the forest.

I felt like punching myself, as I finished my drive to the Cullens. Still shirtless when I knocked on the front door, the chill of the night made goosebumps appear. The door opened to show the beaming face of Alice. Her expression quickly changed to scandalous.

"What," she yelled bring the rest of the family to the open door.

"Holy Shit!" Jasper exclaimed looking at my body, "I like this arrangement."

Feeling awkward, I crossed my arms over my chest. Carlisle saved me by tossing me one of Emmett's shirts. It was a tight but I was covered again.

"Carlisle, do I have permission to use the woods around the house," he nodded and when I asked for a tarp he let me take a large one from the garage.

"I don't want anyone spying on me, is that understood," I sternly looked all of them in their faces.

Walking behind the house, ignoring every vampire who was staring at my back. Going behind the house, I began looking for a suitable piece of land. I found it a minute later. It was a clearing that had a few saplings scattered around. The creek trickled by with a soothing melody. The level dirt made this perfect. Fixing the tarp to two tree, effectively blocking out the view of the house, I cracked my knuckles and activated my inner berserker.

"Let's get this done."

Jasper POV

It had been a full week since any of us spoke with or even seen Adam. Some of us wanted to check on him, but his warning stopped us. Loud noises had been coming from behind the house and Rosalie wanted to put a stop to it. Bella's truck had driven a long trailer back during the day while we were away at school. We didn't actually see the trailer, Esme had told us when we had gotten home.

On the fourth day, Bella's truck was left in front of the house with a note saying that he was done using it. We returned the old truck, while insulting it the entire time. It was now the night of the seventh day and the noises had stopped but the scent of Adam got closer.

Hearing his heavy footfalls coming up the stairs, Alice blurred to the door and opened it cheering. She gasped as Adam limped his way over the threshold. His chest was bare and all his muscles glistened with sweat. He had dirt and small scratches on his body. He collapsed, falling forward onto Alice who squawked in surprise. His eyes were closed and his body shivered from exhaustion.

"He's burning up," Alice said lifting his big body into her arms.

Carlisle rushed forward and pulled a thermometer from his coat pocket. Placing it in Adam's mouth, we waited for a second.

"He's 105 degrees! We need to get an ice bath for him," Alice took him to the bathroom and began filling the tub with cold water.

Placing the feverish human in the water, the family gathered in the front room. Esme was worried and Carlisle was calming her down. Emmett looked carefree, but his bouncing leg gave his nerves away. Rosalie comforted a very distraught Alice, and me. I got the brunt of the emotions that everyone was feeling.

"Edward, can you see what he is doing," Esme asked wringing her hands.

Shaking his head, he answered, "No. Everytime I try, I'm forced out by an angry voice that is most certainly not Adam's."

This only increased the level of worry in the room. Now we could only wait until the cause of our worry to walk up. After changing out the water several times, Alice was sitting by his side. His fever had disappeared and his small cuts had healed. Hearing a rough groan, Alice felt joy at her love being ok.

"What are you doing to exhaust yourself to that point," Esme asked seeing his bleary eyes.

"I'll tell you when I'm done," he slurred.

"For now, you must rest," Alice pushed his shoulders down and he agreed before starting to snore.

"Looks like he is just tired," Carlisle said examining him.

"I'll make him something to eat, he must be starving," Esme said rushing down to the kitchen and began to make a feast.

The smells that wafted through the house smelled strange to us but they roused Adam from his sleep. He stretched then walked to the table with a slight stumble. Esme greeted him warmly and he nodded his thanks to her. Sitting down with a thud, he began to stuff the plates of food down his gullet at a pace that made us worry about him choking. Seeing that he was awake and health, Emmett and Rosalie went hunting and weren't expected back for a couple more hours.

"I need help," Adam ground out, finished with his meal.

"With what," Esme asked warmly passing him a glass of water.

Gulping it down quickly, he sighed in relief, "I need Jasper to help me with my project. I gave myself too little time to do it, even working without sleep."

Esme looked at me with pleading. She wanted me to take some weight for his shoulders and I knew that I still owed him for being the cause of us leaving. I accepted his request and he stood up to go out the back door. Following him, I saw that the tarp had been staked down to keep it from flapping in the wind.

Going behind it, I was stunned. He had transformed the land with his slightly unskilled hands. I saw the incomplete structure and was surprised by the complexity of the beginning of it. Seeing my surprise, Adam let himself smile with clear exhaustion.

"Now you see my struggle. Here are the plans, you start over there," he pointed to the area near the creek and walked over to a workstation.

"I'll need to feed once a week," I explained moving to my place.

He nodded his understanding and got back to work. I looked down at the tasks that he had given me and sighed. Adam was a slave driver, through and through. I hope that this is worth it.

 _~Time Skip: Three Weeks~_

It was finally finished. Even with me, it took nearly a month to finish this. Adam had collapsed five times and I had been forced to carry him back to the house. He was stubborn about working throughout the day, even when I went to school.

Standing proudly in front of his creation, Adam looked at it in pride. He set to pulled down the tarp, that was blocking the project from the family's view. The entire family was waiting eagerly for the big reveal. It had been a month of work, and many loud hours that annoyed them. Alice was straining her ability to the max, but she only got broken pieces. Edward refused to read Adam's mind due to the anger Adam had for Edward. Esme and Carlisle had been worried that Adam was pushing himself to the point where he would need medical attention. Rosalie was mainly annoyed by the loud noises that had filled the clearing. The tarp fell down, revealing a month's labour to a surprised vampire family.

It was a rustic log cabin. Thick logs stacked up made the outer walls, and half logs covered with layers of shingles, topped the cabin. The main body of the cabin was a little over thirty feet in both length and width, and around fifteen feet at its peak. A chimney puffed out smoke at the back of the structure. The roof extended about two meters in the front and was supported by vertical beams with fencing between them. The patio had a few homemade chairs and a table. At the back of the cabin, the roof extended fifteen feet to allow for something in the future. Four panel windows were evenly spaced every ten feet or so in the walls of the cabin.

"It looks wonderful," Esme said looking at the wooden structure with a critical eye.

"Yes, but why is it needed. You know that you are always welcome to our home," Carlisle explained, confused about the small house.

"I'll still come over to get some meals, but I need this space," Adam toned out.

The others in the family nodded in understanding because sometimes one of them went off for months for a vacation. The only one who was unhappy about the cabin was Alice, the black cloud that wrapped around her was projected clearly to me. She opened her mouth to speak but closed it and ran back to the house, feeling disappointment.

"I'll talk with her soon," Adam said to Esme when she glanced at Alice.

"I need your help this time Esme," he looked to the side in embarrassment.

"You should've asked me, I am the strongest," Emmett flexed.

Adam rolled his eyes, "And you would have spilled the beans in five minutes. Besides, I doubt that blonde will have given up her 'Monkey Man' for so long."

"You're absolutely right," Rosalie sniffed, "At least your stench will no longer pollute the house."

Her face was a mask of disdain, but her emotions weren't actually angry. Adam snorted at her, but took Esme into the cabin for the interior decorating.

Adam POV

"I think that you should keep the rustic feel," the master of interior decoration explained to me.

"I have no sense of style, but I don't like too many colors."

"Do you have any preference on hanging pictures," she gestured around the empty cabin.

The interior was bare of any decorations, and the walls had insulation to trap warmth. The front half of the cabin was open and I wanted it to be my main room. A small and simple kitchen would go to the immediate left, as you walked in the door. My bedroom was on the right wall and was a quarter of the space in the cabin. It was walled off and private. What I intended as the bathroom was behind the kitchen area, walled off as well. Esme nodded as I laid out the future plans for the interior.

"What's your budget," she asked the important question.

"I have been working small jobs around Forks and I earned over two and a half thousand dollars," she smiled, already getting ideas for the decor.

"But I spent most of it on the lumber, shingles, and other basics."

"How much do you have left," her brow crinkled slightly.

"Forty dollars," she winced and I knew that she couldn't do much with that.

"I did say rustic," she muttered, glancing around.

"I just need some furniture. I've already connected the cabin to the electricity and water of your house, Jasper OKed it."

She nodded and blurred back to the house to get her planning book. I had told her that tomorrow would be when I wanted to discuss the details in greater depth. I pulled out my phone and sent two texts.

[A: the cabin is built i want you to come over. I'll tell the Cullens your coming]

I got a reply a minute later and it showed her anger.

[J: I heard from Bella that you have been working yourself to exhaustion. I was super stressed, i hope your happy. I'll be over in an hour]

Smiling at the feeling her heartfelt concerns brought me, I looked at the clock on the phone screen. It was four in the afternoon. Sending a text to Alice, who was probably in her room stress shopping.

[A: alice, i would like for you to come over around five. We need to have our talk]

[A: can't wait XD do I need to dress fancy.]

[A: wouldn't recommend]

All I could do now was wait for the two girls to arrive. I informed Carlisle of my guest and he approved the thought of unity with the Quileute shapeshifters. I rolled my eyes at the naivety of the vampire, but thought about how nice it would be if Julie could come over more often. I set up the scraps of the timber to create three rudimentary stools.

Hearing the familiar sound of a truck engine, I glanced at the clock and felt a shudder of fear. Before the truck even got to the house, I heard a knock at the front door. Knowing it was Alice, I let her in. She looked around at the sparse interior, her face was beautiful in the single light that I had rigged up to the ceiling. Her cute face scrunched up as she took a sniff of the air.

"I'm smelling dog again, were you around that dog bitch," she really hated Julie, maybe my plan was flawed before I could even put it into play.

"At least I don't smell like roadkill, leech," Julie standing behind her.

Stopping the fight before I lost my newly built house, I lead both of them by their hand to the stools, "I just finished my house. Please don't destroy it."

They looked at me like I was crazy for asking them to get along. I shrugged then decided to get the heart of the matter without any distractions.

"Why do you two have such animosity between each other?" I think that I already knew the answer.

"It's because this bloodsucker left you broken, also Bella was hurt on her watch," Julie hit Alice where it hurt.

"Yeah I left him, but I didn't move in on a man who was taken already," Alcie started meek, but was yelling at the end.

"I can at least walk in the sun with him," Julie fired.

"Well, I don't have fleas," Julie gasped and stood up.

Alice stood up as well, her face was snarling. Shaking my head at their bickering, I got between them. They didn't even care that I was between them, they were too angry with each other. They pressed against me, trying to tear the other to pieces. One side hot, one side cold, I activated the berserker to boost my presence.

 **"ENOUGH,"** they looked at me and sat down.

"Julie, I want to know what you wanted to tell me that day in the woods. I know that it wasn't just about Isabella and the treaty," she blushed looking away.

"Well, I, uh," she stuttered looking frightened.

"What day in the woods," Alice asked clenching her fists.

I did not want to keep anything from her, "When I was coming back here the first day, Julie stopped me to have a talk, she also was the reason that I was shirtless when I arrived."

Alice exploded like I've never seen before, "This bitch took your shirt. I bet that she smells it every night to get off."

"Calm down. I am sick of the insults," I growled.

"The next person who hurls and insult, I will kick out of this cabin and continue the conversation will whoever remains," both girls shook their heads in dread.

"Please continue Julie."

"Fine," she yelled standing up.

"Your my one and only, my Imprint," I sat in stunned silence alongside Alice.

"Could you explain what an Imprint is."

"It is a wolf thing," my eyes said, 'more information needed'.

"Humans have stories about finding 'the one', well for wolves that is a lot more literal," her voice cracked.

"Wolves only ever mate once. We know just from a glance, I knew," she looked down and I felt my throat clench.

"I have felt drawn to you as well," I admitted making Julie smile and Alice tense.

"But there is more to it," I said dreading their reactions.

"What is it," Julie's voice was lighter.

Taking a deep breath, "I'm drawn to both of you."

Their faces were both shocked, Julie went from elation to horror, while Alice went from despair to hopeful.

"Really," Alice asked.

"Yes. Before you both tear me apart, I will explain. I am Bear," I threw a smile at Julie, "my ability is the berserker that destroys all. I am the last bear and the chief of the clan." Julie already knew these things, but Alice was learning this for the first time.

"There are only three ways to stop a berserker. First, he is killed. Second, the Chief forcefully exerts his command over them. And finally..." I looked into their beautiful eyes.

"...the berserker's mate calms them down."

Alice lifted a hand to her face and if she could cry, she would have been crying tears of relief. Julie looked conflicted but still happy.

"When I gained dominance over my inner berserker, he told me that both of you were my mates," I closed my eyes, fearful of their response.

"What happens if a berserker doesn't get their mate," Alice asked softly.

"It's kind of in the name. They go berserk until they exhaust themselves or die," I chuckled morbidly.

"But you have two mates. A spare," Julie cut in.

"Never, _never_ call yourselves a spare," I growled clenching my hands.

"If either of you were to die, I know that I couldn't go on," Alice and Julie each placed a gentle hand on my clenched fists.

I looked up at them in surprise. They looked at each other and nodded their heads in agreement. They placed a kiss on my cheek and I revelled in the feeling that was boiling inside of me. Alice spoke first,

"I left you. Something that I will regret to my final day. I will never hurt you again, so I'm willing to give this a chance."

Julie nodded her head, "I still want you to be mine alone," Alice let out a warning growl, "but that would hurt you, so I'm in for it to."

Seeing them agree to this crazy arrangement, I pulled them into a hug that I hoped filled their noses with my scent, blocking the other one's out. They relaxed and wrapped their arms around me.

"I love you both so much," I pulled back leaning down.

"My little kitten," I pressed a searing kiss to the cold lips of Alice, feeling reminiscent.

"I forgive you," I whispered.

Seeing Julie was pouting cutely, I couldn't help but chuckle with mirth. She brought her head up to meet mine. Her lips were feverish, and then she got more adventurous. I felt her tongue probe my lips, begging for access which I gave. Our tongues danced and when we broke, we were both panting heavily.

"My strong wolf," I whispered bringing both girls back into a tight embrace.

They were hesitant, that I could feel and understand, but together, we would stay strong and happy.

 **THAT'S A WRAP ON THIS CHAPTER. I FEEL LIKE I RUSHED A LITTLE ON THE EXPLANATIONS AND FORCING ROMANCE. IN THE NEXT CHAPTER, I WILL BEGIN ECLIPSE AND WILL BE DEALING WITH SOME FIGHTING BETWEEN ALICE AND JULIE. *catfights ahead* I HOPE THAT YOU ENJOYED THIS CHAPTER AND READ SOME OF MY OTHER STORIES. IN YOUR REVIEWS, SAY YES OR NO FOR A LEMON CHAPTER. UNTIL NEXT TIME, READ, REVIEW, AND ENJOY.**

 **Ghost Operation Systems signing out.**


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